Blind Bachelor
by some.fiction
Summary: Matt Murdock is forced to act as the star of a dating show to keep his identity secret. "Good to know I'm not too damaged for your little circus."
1. Prologue

Quinn is not impressed when she gets her first glimpse of the new star on her dating show. "He's wearing shades for the introductions? Rachel, didn't I teach you anything?!"

But the producer next to her is unfazed and just crosses her arms. "Keep watching… I promise, getting him on the show was a stroke of genius on my part." It was a last minute stroke of luck as well, but her boss doesn't need to know about that.

"I don't like that look on your face. It tells me that you think you've done something revolutionary and that never ends well." Quinn still looks sceptical when a cute girl with blonde curls in a shiny blue dress extents her hand and Matt Murdock doesn't shake it. The contestant bites her lip awkwardly and says her name out loud to which the man finally responds with a gentle voice and a charming smile.

The penny then drops, just like the jaw of the show's creator, who stares at Rachel while she confirms her fears with a triumphant grin: "He's blind."

"I can SEE that… How is he going to judge those girls by their appearances now…? He's going to have to go by their personality, isn't he?" Quinn groans… "Oh, this is going to be so boring."

"Relax. All of them are pretty," her protégé points out and rolls her tired eyes.

As Matt greets more of these very glamorous women, all of them making the same mistake, Quinn eventually has to agree that it's a bit funny to watch and when he does his first little blind joke to ease the tension she actually starts to enjoy this. "Okay, maybe you're onto something here. Where did you find this guy? Who is he?"

"He's a pro bono lawyer, only defending innocents-"

"Let me stop you right there. He's not rich?" The suspicion in her question can be heard loud and clear.

When Rachel starts to give an introduction to her pick she sounds a little more defensive than before: "His law firm, Nelson & Murdock, is still pretty new, but they've made quite a splash with a big case recently, putting Wilson Fisk in prison. He's going to be rich, he wants to use the show to promote the firm and he's a good guy, a hero I would say. Fighting for justice…"

That makes the older woman snort and give her a knowing look. "Okay, sounds like your type, Rachel…"

Ignoring the scrutiny the younger one just smiles bitterly. "Don't worry, he hates my guts."

"Already?" Quinn's eyebrows shoot up. "You got him under control, though, right? We've had enough behind the scenes drama."

"I do." Rachel is pretty confident about this, not aware that she's playing with fire. Again.

And then Jessica Jones makes her entrance and Quinn is predictably shocked to see someone like the black haired private detective carrying herself with a no-nonsense attitude in her show. "See, this is what I was afraid of. She's not even wearing a dress."

Jessica indeed does look completely out of place in her jeans and top. Rachel quickly hurries to explain: "This is the best I could do with her. But her adopted sister is Trish Walker."

That information makes Quinn's eyes flash with interest. "Patsy? Tell me you got her to guest star…"

"Not yet. But I'm sure if those two hit it off…"

They both observe their fancy lab rats for a moment, to see if they do get along. Jessica is the first to wait for Matt to extend his hand which makes the first genuine smile appear on his lips so far. She however doesn't seem to be very interested in him. "If I'm being honest, I hope you send me home fast. I literally had no clue what I was signing up for."

"I'm just glad I'm not the only one. Guess you're stuck with me now." He smirks and her face falls, like this is the worst thing she heard all day and that's including all of Rachel's suggestions of what she should wear.

Quinn laughs out loud. "Looks like he's going to have to convince her to stay. That could be interesting, but she's gonna have to dress up later on or you have to make her leave. Give me a makeover and I'm in."

"Let's see." Rachel shrugs, thinking she'd need a miracle for that to happen.

"I'm serious. This is not my show. I want glamour, not grunge."

The first time Rachel really starts to worry, though, is when that greek socialite enters, because it somehow looks like her suitor recognises her. And he even seems to pale a little at her very seductive introduction. "Mark my words, you're going to pick me in the end."

"And we've got a villain! I love her already", Quinn exclaims in delight. "Also, their chemistry is gonna burn the screens…"

At least her boss is happy.

That encounter however makes Matt quite stiff in the last two meetings and before Quinn can say anything Rachel vows: "I'll find out what his problem was in the end."

"You better. And make him lose the glasses while you're at it. I hope he's hiding some pretty eyes behind those."

"Oh, don't worry. This works for his man of mystery act, but I promise you won't be disappointed once you get to see all of him. He's gorgeous, interesting and likable." He's also a self-centered bastard, but that's not a first for them.

"I'll take your word for it. You always manage to surprise me. I think you can pull this off and make that guy dance to your tunes. Now go and talk to our new star. Make him loosen up a little."

Easier said than done. She actually thought the worst part of her job was keeping Quinn happy and producing good ratings with stereotypes and superficial, fake romance. But now she kind of wishes this was all she had to worry about.

Rachel finds Matt in his room and he's already pacing, his hair is a mess from running nervous fingers through it. Before they can resume shooting she's gonna have to send someone in to fix it. Not that the hot mess in front of her doesn't look good (or better...), but it's not the image they are going for on this show.

"You invited Elektra on purpose, didn't you? I was warned about this show. You create all the drama and manipulate people, but trust me: You don't want to play games with someone like her. Or people might lose their lives, literally…"

"I didn't know, I promise. She came on the show last minute. She must have gotten wind of your involvement somehow." Rachel sighs. "Look, you can't drop out now or it'll make everyone suspicious and I really don't want your identity revealed. We can still make a difference with this! Create some awareness about albeism, get you some good clients..."

Matt groans in frustration. "Look, I believe that you genuinely care for some reason, but you have a very twisted way of going about this, Rachel. You didn't even tell these girls that I'm blind. You made them look like fools on national TV..."

With a shrug she just says: "I told them you're a brilliant lawyer who's going places. If some of them didn't react that well, then it was their prejudice showing. I didn't want you to be defined by that one aspect. You're so much more than that."

Matt tilts his head and she tries to charm him with a sweet smile that he can't see. "And you thought making everyone awkward was going to help with that."

"Well, sorry, we need to entertain people, you know? You can trust me, Matt. And I'm sure, if Elektra is going to make trouble, that Daredevil will be able to take care of it." She winks at him.

"Fine," he growls. "You're the worst."

"I know." She can't really blame him for hating her. She did threaten to reveal his identity after all.

"By the way: How did you get this Jessica to agree to this crap? Did you blackmail her, too?" The way in which he - "casually" - asks makes her think that there might be something there. Especially when he immediately tries to hide his interest. "Just curious..."

"No, I did not blackmail her. I was as surprised as you are to find someone like her in that pool of women. I thought you two might hit it off..." Rachel laughs.

"Dream on." He turns his back to her, indicating that this conversation is over. "She just might make this a little more bearable."

"Alright, you keep that attitude." Rachel walks to the door, but then she remembers one last thing she came to say. "Oh, and there is something else: The viewers are going to have to see your eyes."

Matt shakes his head and sighs angrily, before tilting his head with the tinted glasses back at her. "Of course. Anything else…?"

"Well, we need you to show off your fabulous body at some point obviously, but that has time. I mean you're a superhero, you gotta have one, right?"

"What? No!" Matt's expression is one of pure shock for some reason. "I can't do that."

"I thought someone told you about this show. What did you think?!" She didn't really expect him to be shy, but now it sounds like she will have to force him to do this as well...

"You don't understand. They're gonna see the scars then…"

Scars? Apparently Rachel didn't consider that at all. That a man who fights crime every night will have marks of that on his body. Coming on TV to hide his identity would be a little counterproductive then. Still, there's no way around it. They're just gonna have to give some other explanation. "Show me."

He doesn't do anything. "Please... I gotta know what story we should go with."

Reluctantly Matt takes off his shirt and she just stares at his battered torso. Ouch, that's... she has to gather her thoughts for a moment. "Wow, okay… Don't you have a healing factor or something?"

"What do you think?" He huffs while she takes a picture of his scars with her phone and swallows.

"I'm sorry, I didn't expect this. But I'll find a solution. Luckily it still doesn't make you look like a freak… We can still sell you as the sweet blind guy with a tragic past..." Maybe, she shouldn't have said this out loud.

"Jee, thanks. Good to know I'm not too damaged for your little circus." He quickly covers himself up again.

Rachel looks up then, feeling a bit guilty about doing this to him, because it's not like she thinks he deserves it. She was just desperate and his secret kind of fell into her lap and then she decided to use it. "Sorry, Matt. But I'll try my best to make it worth it for you. I mean it."

"If you want me to lie and say I appreciate it, you're gonna be very disappointed."

When she leaves the room she lingers in the hallway for a few seconds, because she truly underestimated the situation. Quinn is already yelling for her assistance on something else. But there's no way back now and hopefully they'll finish this season with less deaths than last year...

Or maybe they'll all end up behind bars, including the Devil of Hell's Kitchen.


	2. Chapter 1: The One That Got Away

_NOTE: I wasn't gonna continue with this until I'm done with my other series, but this chapter was ready, so I figured... why not post it?_

* * *

FOGGY

Karen is already busy on the computer typing away when Foggy enters and she barely acknowledges his greeting. "Did you watch Matt's first episode yesterday?"

"I'm not going to watch Matt flirt on TV. No."

It's more how she says it than what she says that makes Foggy think he has the last missing piece to a puzzle. "I knew it! There's something going on between you two." That makes the reappearance of a certain ex all the more annoying. At least Matt did look taken aback when he saw Elektra again.

Karen laughs bitterly "Well obviously not, otherwise he wouldn't go an a dating show, would he?"

"You know very well he did that solely for publicity." Well, Foggy knows very well that's not the entire truth, but he can't tell Karen as long as she's in the dark about their colleague's vigilante escapades and he promised his best friend that he would not reveal his little horny secret to her. However it got very difficult to stick to that after he had to convince her that Matt Murdock decided to go on TV willingly to be part of a show called "Everlasting".

"Come on, Karen, we've been through this. The producers just made us a very good offer." An offer they couldn't refuse to be exact.

All Rachel did was tell them how they could justify it, really. It's not like they had much of a choice. Although, to be honest, Foggy actually didn't think it was such a bad deal for his law partner and that pissed him off even more.

So whenever Matt acted like he was a martyr for cleaning up his own mess Foggy was having none of it. "Great. You make dating a lot of beautiful women simultaneously sound like a sacrifice for our crappy firm."

And the asshole even laughed when he said that, before pointing out that he was going to have to play his role the entire time. Like... big deal. He does that every day.

Karen at first even acted like she didn't mind that much and she only warned him about how fake and superficial it all looked on TV. And especially about all the drama that they always seem to fabricate on reality shows like that. "Be careful, Matt. I've heard some dark rumours about those producers."

"Don't worry, Karen. We're gonna sue their asses if they screw us." Foggy saw it more like he got stuck with their workload while Matt had a good time with the ladies. He was not really concerned about his superhero buddy.

Well... until Elektra showed up...

But they do actually get a few more calls after the premiere, some of them from potential paying customers. So that publicity thing actually seems to work. He almost feels grateful, until he has Rachel Goldberg on the line again. "What else do you want from us?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Nelson, I promise we won't keep your partner longer than we have to."

She always sounds so sincere that he is tempted to believe her and then he reminds himself that it is her job to make people trust her and then screw them over if it serves the show. "Just tell me."

"Well, usually at the end of the season we go to our star's family with our last contestants and since he doesn't have any blood relatives... He told me you and Karen are as close to family as it gets." Foggy can't help feeling a bit moved by that statement. Damn.

"So... what do you suggest?"

"Well, I want them to meet the Nelson & Murdock family in Hell's Kitchen. Do you think that's possible?"

Foggy sighs. There's no way around it. For a short moment he thinks about suggesting that they should go to Fogwell's, but showcasing Daredevil's gym on TV is probably not a good idea. "Alright, I'll talk to Karen. Tell me what you need..."

"I'll send a team over to check out some locations." The woman sounds relieved.

"But don't expect anything too fancy." Karen is not going to like this.

* * *

RACHEL

They watch as a blindfolded contestant clumsily tries to figure out which of the five different guys in front of her is Matt.

"I'm not complaining because there's so much touching so early in this season, but Rachel, I thought you understood my concerns about the damn glasses. If the viewers are supposed to fall for him we have to show them his eyes."

"I know, but we have to give the contestants a chance to recognize him and so far they've only seen him with the shades. You want none of them to score alone time with him?"

Matt even decides to help some of them a little, encouraging them to not be shy in a quiet whisper. Still, quite a few pick the guy next to him, especially after they feel their arms and they are obviously under the impression that a blind lawyer would not be that fit. Which - she has to admit - is not unreasonable, especially since they've only seen him in a suit so far. But soon she's going to make them do something where he has to dress in a T-shirt to show off those arms.

"Just don't stretch out your man of mystery angle too much or people will get bored."

"Don't worry I've planned a good reveal for the glasses and he agreed that he won't be wearing them for the rest of the season." It was not easy convincing him of that. He seems to think his unfocused eyes make people feel uncomfortable. Maybe they are, but it could just be because they can't help staring and it's not very polite to stare at a blind man.

When it's Jessica's turn it seems that she's not too invested in finding him, but that's probably what gives her away to Matt who's suddenly smirking. After she moves on to the guy next to him, Matt walks out of the row to switch with the last man in line.

"Oh, looks like he has his head in the game after all!", Quinn realises happily. "And now she appears to be confused."

Jessica frowns and probably to make sure she doesn't pick him she touches his lips to make up her mind. Noticed them before, did she? Then she goes back to the one before him and asks if he is Matt. "Did that one just do that on purpose? We've never had a contestant who didn't want alone time. What's up with that?"

"I don't know. But I think it's intriguing, don't you?" Rachel likes her. Although, Jessica will obviously be a challenge for her to produce. How is she going to make her dress up? And why the hell is she even here?

After purposely picking the wrong man she takes off her blindfold to look mock dismayed at a chuckling Matt.

"I think she's up to something..." Quinn muses. "Keep an eye on her."

Next up is a girl called Celine. She like all the others raises her eyebrows at feeling the hard muscle under Matt's suit. But it doesn't make her discard him. Instead she feels his glasses and chin and when he smiles she nods knowingly, before announcing that she found him. Much to everyone's surprise.

Last up is Elektra and now Rachel of course knows that the woman has an unfair advantage over the others, since she knows him already. Of course, she pretends that she doesn't recognise him right away, instead she argues that she has mostly seen his back the night before, because "Matthew" seems to have avoided her.

"So now, I guess I'm gonna have to feel this..." Elektra slowly travels back and down with her hands, until she arrives at his ass to feel him while she bites her lips. "I hope you don't mind..."

With that she scores some more points in Quinn's book. Her boss fans herself and gets even more ecstatic when Elektra takes Matt's glasses off and reveals the angry heat in his eyes - that can also be mistaken for something else. "I'd recognise that ass anywhere."

She takes the blindfold off acting surprised that she guessed right, but Rachel isn't fooled. This also wasn't her plan and she shoots Jay, who's handling Elektra an annoyed look. "What? Someone had to take initiative..."

"The villain isn't supposed to get the important reveals, Jay." But he just shrugs.

And Quinn supports him: "I don't care as long as we got rid of the shades. You're lucky that I like him Rachel. Now make sure he doesn't cut Elektra from our show, because he did look a bit tense again. I want more of that."

* * *

MATT

Since they were in the woods without much happening around this area there wasn't as much distraction as there was in the city. Listening to everyone in the house Matt slowly forms an idea of what he has gotten himself into. Rachel however seems to have suspicions about his good hearing, so every time her conversations with Quinn get interesting she changes the topic. But he's sure they've done some shady crap in the past. Things they'd rather not have anyone find out. Which may have something to do with Jessica's presence.

He could also hear the contestants talk to each other about him, most of them pretending they weren't disappointed. Well, he's not rich and he can't even see, so he's hardly the prince they were promised signing up for this. And a part of him is actually insulted, but at the same time, he's the one who isn't in this to find someone to marry and he's quite surprised when he hears some of their heartbeats tell him that they are.

Then there's Elektra. The last time he saw her was when they tortured the guy together, the man who was responsible for his father's death. She disappeared without a trace after he refused to take revenge and kill the guy. It was probably for the better. Foggy helped him back then to focus on his studies again and Matt was sure he'd never see her after this, until now.

Last night he left his room - expertly avoiding all the cameras - to go for a run and clear his head. It didn't take long for her to seek him out and when he asked her directly what she was doing there, he got an answer he didn't expect: "I could use your help."

She has quite some nerve to ask him for that. "As you might have noticed I'm a bit busy," Matt growled at her. He wanted to carry on and ignore her, but his legs just wouldn't move.

"I could get the team to go we are needed if you're serious about this silly show. I'm... connected." She stepped closer towards him then. "But I don't think you're here, because you want to be. Did someone find out about your little secret?"

Elektra raised her eyebrows and lifted her fists challenging him to fight her like he did when she first found out what he was capable of. But Matt was not in the mood to give her what she wanted, even if he secretly wanted the same thing. In fact he was getting quite desperate to use his fists. He wasn't able to blow off steam since this production started. All he could do was run and now even his exercise was interrupted. However he couldn't go on camera with bruised knuckles, that much he understood. So, he forced himself to run past her. "Please, just leave me alone. I'm going to send you home tomorrow if you won't go on your own."

"We'll see about that," she mumbled after him, knowing fully well that he'd be able to hear her.

It was a warning and a promise that kept him awake much longer than he'd care to admit. As long as she's there he's in trouble, he kept reminding himself and he'll have to do something about it. The way she was feeling him up earlier also helped him make up his mind.

Sensing Rachel approach his room Matt opens the door before she has time to knock. "What now?"

"You can't cut Elektra."

Matt groans and steps aside to let her in. "Didn't I tell you she's dangerous?"

"You did. But I've got the impression there's some unresolved tension between you."

"Yeah, you're right. The last time I saw her she almost made me kill someone. It's not like we can discuss that openly..." Then he tilts his head, because he can hear someone else sneak up to listen at the door. Jessica. "Hang on..." He waits for a minute and then his senses tell him that she gave up and moved on. Interesting...

After making a sign that she can talk again Rachel goes on. "You have good ears."

"You knew something was making up for my missing eyesight," Matt mumbles.

"Yeah... but seeing it confirmed is..." She stops herself. "Anyway: I'm just asking you to consider that it isn't going to be fair to those women to drag them along to the end and getting their hopes up. At least Elektra knows what she's getting into. She's not going to expect a proposal at the end of this, is she...?"

"Well, no." Matt then shakes his head in disbelief at what he just heard. "But you're the reason that they have screwed expectations and now you're making it my fault?"

"You could give them a chance... We might be selling a fantasy, but those are all real women and I'm sure you'll find that it's worth it getting to know them all." Yeah, and he'll probably want them as far away from him as possible. "And who knows? Maybe meeting Elektra again will even lead to some closure. But first I need you to change into a T-shirt..." She then starts talking to one of her colleagues. "Get the picnic basket to Matt's room."

"You're insane if you actually think I could even entertain the idea to date one of them." Okay, from everything he knows about her, maybe Rachel just really is insane.

Before leaving she turns around once more. "We're also organising our stay in your hometown right now and I was wondering... Does Karen know?"

Matt shakes his head, still contemplating what she just told him. Rachel isn't completely wrong about getting these women's hopes up. Just like he's determined to keep Jessica around, because she's obviously here to snoop around and not to find a husband, maybe he should send those home first who actually seem to like him without knowing what they are getting into.

Suddenly he hears Jessica make a call to a guy named Malcom and he finds his suspicions confirmed that she's here for a case. "They are definitely hiding something here. I'm not sure if it's murder yet, but there's something off with that lawyer. Maybe he isn't really blind."

Oh shit.

* * *

RACHEL

Quinn is pleased when Matt shows up for his picnic with Elektra in less formal clothes, without the glasses and without a stick up his ass. "Oh yeah... you weren't lying about him. I like the way he fills out his shirt."

There is obviously still tension in the way they talk, since they both have to lie through their teeth, but something tells her that there are honest moments in there. Surprisingly they come from Elektra. "I'm sorry about making you feel uncomfortable."

Rachel can tell that she means more than their awkward reunion and by the look in Matt's eyes - boy he's an open book without those glasses - he knows it, too.

"I've been thinking about you." Again that statement is a lot more serious than it seems. She's obviously talking about the years they spend apart. "And it hurt that you've been avoiding me, so I'm sorry that I felt like I had to 'grab' my opportunity to talk to you..." Elektra still looks a bit smug about how she earned her picnic date with Matt and of course Quinn loves it.

His lips are pressed into a thin line at the last admission, but it seems like he's been giving Rachel's words some thought. Good. "I can't see, so if you thought I avoided you on purpose..." He shrugs and they both know that's crap.

Elektra still chuckles at the joke. "Well, I'd like to make it up to you, but if you want me to leave..."

"No, no, nooo!" Quinn shoots Rachel an angry look. "I swear, if you didn't convince him to keep her-"

"I want you to stay." He even manages a smile to Rachel's huge relief. The rest of their time together they just make meaningless small talk.

Crisis number one averted. After their villain leaves Matt is joined on his blanket by Celine and they seem to connect quite easily. Rachel is immediately reminded of the first evening when she met him in a bar in Hell's Kitchen noticing how easy he is to talk to without any intentions of bringing him on the show.

"Can I ask you how you lost your eyesight?", Celine asks tentatively. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to be nosy-"

"No, I don't mind." He's prepared for that question, of course. "It was an accident. I saved an old man and chemicals spilled into my eyes when I was a kid. I learned to adjust."

It's after the second glass of wine - one more than he drank with Elektra - that Celine starts talking about her ex boyfriend. "You remind me of him. To be honest, I wasn't sure about doing this, but a friend of mine said I should give it a try. I wasn't interested in dating anyone after he died and it's been five years..."

Matt takes her hand in his with an encouraging smile to go on and Rachel can't help wondering if it has been that long for him since Elektra. If he has dated anyone since her. She doesn't know how long he has been Daredevil, but that doesn't seem to leave much room for a private life, does it? "What happened?"

"He was a cop. Died on the job." Celine doesn't go into detail and they stay quiet after that, but it's not an uncomfortable silence.

Quinn looks a bit impressed. "Okay, you almost made me tear up and we're only two episodes in. I think this is going to be a good season after all."

Rachel is pretty pleased with herself, too. But maybe she is a bit quick to congratulate herself, because that's when Matt Murdock makes a decision she didn't anticipate.

"You know, maybe this isn't such a good idea."

Rachel sees Quinn frown in alarm beside her.

Celine also looks up at him. "What do you mean?"

"You and me." Matt sighs. Damn. This is him thinking he doesn't want her to get the wrong idea about him.

"Don't get me wrong. You're wonderful and I think you'll definitely find someone else who's worthy of you. But I make powerful enemies, too, and if it took that long for you to get over the death of your last boyfriend..." He places another hand over their joined ones in an attempt to make her understand that this is for her own good as tears gather in her eyes. "I don't want you getting hurt like that again. Maybe you should start looking for someone a little safer than me."

"But-" He kisses the tear off her cheek. "You're asking me to leave?"

Matt smiles. "I'm asking you to run, before this hurts any more than it has to. And promise me that you won't give up looking, okay?" She nods vaguely. "Give it a shot and get some better friends who don't make you do something like this on TV..."

Rachel barely registers Quinn yelling her name while Matt is trying to cheer Celine up. What did she do, getting someone like him on this show?!


	3. Chapter 2: A Lawyer In Need

_Notes:_

_Changed the rating. Just in case..._

_Rin-Rin: Here is the scene how Rachel found out about Matt's secret!_

_Anika_Ann: Matt isn't such a rebellious puppet this time, but he needs an ally first. :)_

_rfreda: Let's see what Karen & Jessica are thinking, shall we? ;)_

* * *

RACHEL

Rachel remembers that evening when she met Matt Murdock like it was yesterday. She didn't know why she even cared that she was going to get fired. It's not like she likes her job, she's just good at it. There was no way to know that someone would warn their new star about her and her show, so it's not like it was her fault. Who would have thought a guy from Hell's Kitchen would get shocked about what she - allegedly - had done? Well, she was aware that she's a bad person and back then she thought that maybe it would be better if she'd finally be forced to turn her back on "Everlasting".

When a man in a suit sat down next to her she rolled her eyes expecting him to chat her up. She didn't come to Josie's to talk to men. She came to the crappy bar to get drunk and she had half succeeded in that so far. However, several minutes went by without him uttering a word, so she risked a glance and that's when she noticed the glasses and the cane. Immediately she felt like an ass for assuming and started wondering what he was doing here, because he looked utterly out of place. "I'm sorry if I sound like a creep right now, but what on earth is a fancy guy like you doing in a dump like this?"

He smiled in her general direction and she couldn't help noticing those lips that looked a bit too soft on a guy. His hair was a little askew - which probably had something to do with him being unable to comb it right in front of a mirror - and he apparently hadn't shaved for a few days giving him a rougher look, except for those aforementioned lips. Her professional eye insisted on noting that he'd work very well on TV. "I was supposed to meet my best friend, because we usually drink here after work, but he cancelled last minute."

"Lucky me." She smiled and saw his eyebrows shoot up. Okay, that came across a little forward she guessed. "What do you do?"

"I'm a lawyer. Matt Murdock."

Ooooh... jackpot. She carefully shook his hand after he offered it. "Rachel Goldberg. TV producer. You don't happen to be interested in finding a wife on TV?"

He laughed charmingly at her completely desperate suggestion, but Rachel was prepared for that and just pretended to be kidding. Worth a try. Then a thought crossed her mind. "You know, I might need a lawyer some day. I always find myself in a mess and sometimes I think I'm just a bad day away from going to prison." She made it sound like a joke and without seeing the tear in the corner of her eye she thinks she may have been able to fool him.

The guy hesitated for a moment and tilted his head in a strange way before moving to get his card with a smirk. "You could just have asked for my number..."

"I'm serious!" She was seriously grateful that he probably understood that, but decided to play along and keep up the light facade. "Having your number is a plus, though." That blush looked cute on him.

When he gave her his card he seemed still casual, but earnest. "We're pretty good, my partner and I. So, give us a caĺl when you think you're in a mess you can't charm yourself out of."

Shit. Did he see through her, already? Lawyer, right... "I don't do that!"

Matt Murdock laughed again and she inspected the card he just gave her. It did look rather simple. "I'm not sure I can afford you."

That made the man almost spill his beer. "You met me at Josie's. Trust me, you can afford us. Right now, most of our clients pay us in cakes & fruits."

And that was the first time Rachel started laughing for real this evening. "You're kidding! Are you sure, you're good at your job?"

"That has more to do with the fact that we only take innocent clients."

"Now that's a shame... I'm not so innocent." Suddenly she felt unworthy of this man's kindness for some reason.

"Okay, but that doesn't mean that you deserve to go to prison. I think we can make an exception."

They talked for another hour after that. Harmless topics, distracting Rachel from the shitstorm she was going to face the next day. Finally Matt offered to walk her to her hotel that wasn't far and she agreed easily. She rarely felt this comfortable with someone. The blind lawyer cracked her shell instantly. He met the real Rachel and he somehow didn't run from her. It even seemed like he wanted to protect her in a way, maybe from herself.

Walking side by side through the dark streets she felt safe in his company. Which was probably weird, because she thought if they were attacked her self defense course would likely make her more able to protect him than the other way around. But he just had that aura... So, when he suddenly stopped beside her and told her to wait before turning into one of those alleys she suddenly felt alone and afraid.

Looking around said corner she was also confused to find him nowhere to be seen. Did the blind man just run off? Did someone drag him somewhere to mug him? Suddenly she heard a strange sound and she had to make sure that he was fine. Was that a struggle? Someone crying? She tried to find where it was coming from and soon other sounds were getting louder. As if there was a fight going on.

She didn't know why, but she kept going to see what's happening. Finally she found the right alley and there he was. It was without a doubt the lawyer she'd been talking to tonight and he was obviously beating up an entire group of men with knives. Alone. For some reason her instinct was to take her phone out and film him, so she did. Maybe she just wanted to make sure this was real, because she couldn't believe her eyes that a blind man could do all that.

After saving the video she noticed a woman with torn clothes sitting on the floor holding her purse close to her chest and trembling. Rachel decided then that she needed to get her to safety, so she went out in the open and carefully grabbed the woman's arm to lead her away from the fight and find her a cab. The driver was very patient with the clearly traumitized woman who stuttered her address and Rachel probably should have just left with her, but for some reason she stayed and when she turned around she saw him standing in the shadows.

Why she wasn't scared she doesn't know. Instinctively she must have understood that he helped this woman. But seriously, the blood on his fists and the menacing look in his eyes - which were certainly unable to make eye contact and that meant he really couldn't see - should have intimidated her. "You can't tell anyone and you have to delete that video."

She didn't know if his chest kept moving that fast, because he was exhausted from the fight or because he was panicking, but Rachel immediately realised that she had leverage on him. "That video is already on a server somewhere. If you hurt me the police will definitely find it."

The shock was rather obvious in his eyes and again Rachel found herself thinking that he belongs on TV. Did he put away the glasses? His face was so damn expressive and it twisted in a grimace at her remark. "I wouldn't hurt you."

Sweet. He was interpreting the situation all wrong, thinking she was afraid of him when really she already started seeing him as her savior, the last minute solution to all her problems. "I know, you wouldn't hurt me." Rachel stepped in front of him admiring that gift she was given. She came so close then that she could have kissed him out of gratitude and she practically saw his brain working, understanding that he should be the one who's afraid. "You're going to stay here, you're not going to follow me, you're not going to intimidate me, you're going to wait for my call and then you're going to sign the documents that you'll come on my show, because otherwise... I am going to give this video to the police."

"Please, don't do this..." Those angsty begging eyes of his almost made her change her mind. Almost.

"I'm sorry. I don't have a choice." He grabbed her arm forcefully, but this wasn't the first time some guy was trying to scare her and she could take it. Also: His threat was empty and they both knew it. So, she walked away terrified, but unharmed.

About an hour later she realised that she probably just blackmailed the Devil of Hell's Kitchen. Wow. A vigilante. That's new. A shame that nobody was going to know this going in. And in that moment Rachel decided that she'll do anything to make this worth it for Daredevil, if only for her conscience. Matt Murdock was not supposed to regret the day that she discovered his secret. In fact, she vowed to herself that he was going to thank her in the end for helping the helpless.

Thinking back on it now she should have known that it wouldn't be easy to control him. He fought entire drug rings, put Wilson Fisk in Prison and he is just way too idealistic for her world.

"Rachel! Rachel, do you hear me?!", Quinn is still yelling at her. "Talk to him! Make sure he understands that he can't send our best candidates home first!"

Rolling her eyes Rachel turns to her boss. "You told me I had to make him keep Elektra. You didn't say anything about Celine. And there were no indications he was going to do this!"

"Well, you're lucky this was probably a shock that'll keep the audience invested. But make sure he doesn't do it again. And he can't send anyone home without a ceremony. They all have to fear that he's going to break up with them."

"Sure. Whatever." Making a deal with the devil was one thing, but will he allow anyone to fall for him like this?

* * *

JESSICA

It was only a matter of time before these girls started to form alliances and Jessica internally groaned at a couple of them bonding over Elektra throwing herself at Matt. The mysterious socialite who got on the show last minute anticipated that, of course, and she deliberately stayed away from them. She didn't seem like the type to make a lot of female friends and Jessica sure wasn't there to make friends either, but she still shared a few annoyed glances with her.

It wasn't like she was cheating. If these girls thought they were better than her because they didn't put their fingers on their price, then they should go home, because it doesn't matter what they think about her and they just come off as judgy bitches for complaining all the time. It only matters what they think about the lawyer and if he's into it, then maybe they don't have a chance of winning, but if they were honest they shouldn't want to then, should they? If they thought what Elektra did was so bad, then they shouldn't want to marry a guy who prefered her.

He seems to be on the fence, though. So, maybe one of those princesses should just thrust a tongue into his mouth. That would certainly spice things up a little. Sending home Celine instead of Elektra was a bit of a surprise to be honest. She was just the kind of girl to win these things, at least that's what Trish told her. She seemed nice, warm, fun and not at all threatened by an Elektra or any of the other girls.

Jessica liked Celine, because when they talked she not once asked her what she was doing there, instead she voiced her relief that Jessica didn't seem to check out her competition when talking to her. To be fair though, Jessica didn't come to win. She came to bring the house down. She couldn't care less who Matt is making out with. She does however care if someone goes crazy or gets killed on the producer's watch.

But she does think finding out what's wrong with Matt Murdock is going to get her closer to discovering what kind of shit show these people are running. He plays his blind role pretty well, but observing him closely she finds little inconsistencies in his performance. Too subtle to call him out or get him exposed on TV, but they're there. He tells some of the girls that his working senses are a little better than they are for sighted people, but it seems a bit random to her what he can and what he can't hear or smell. And he uses that cane like a prop when he's in a hurry, not something he actually needs. His eyes however really seem unfocused, so either he's a very good actor or he uses contact lenses that make him blind, sometimes. She has to check his bathroom for this.

Jessica awkwardly stumbled into him on purpose a couple of times, but so far he hasn't reacted like a person who can see. Everyone has reflexes though, so she just has to be patient. She takes a little ball to the walk around the lake with all the other girls planning to play around with it and throw it at him. He even seems to know what she's up to, when he hears her play with the ball and asks suspiciously what she's doing, while tilting his head like a dog who smelled something odd. She wonders how long he's going to hold up this charade or if he's going to warn her off any time soon.

Surprisingly the team isn't too concerned which would mean that they are oblivious to the situation and that would mean that him faking blindness has nothing to do with the show. But when he avoids her ball "luckily" she sees Rachel smirk and that has to mean she's in on it, right?

Some time later she sees the producer nod in a certain direction and suddenly a loose branch starts cracking right above this cute nerdy girl called Lucy, but Matt calls for her to catch up just in time, so she only jumps when it hits the ground right behind her and she hurries up. That was a little dangerous. Unless Rachel knew he'd do that or she's also trying to catch the lie...

When they arrive at the lake all the girls start going gaga over the view, except for Elektra who takes this opportunity to get close to Matt again. Sneaking up on them Jessica is actually surprised to hear her describe the view to him. But now that she sees them together she finds the familiarity between them rather strange. Okay, Elektra was one picnic ahead of the others, this however looks like she really knows him. And is he using her standing there to shield something that he is doing?

When they walk away to join the others he seems to be looking in Jessica's direction as if he is trying to tell her something. Naturally she checks out that tree they were standing in front of and what she finds gives her more questions than answers. In very clumsy handwriting she reads a message that was carved into the tree: "Stop making me trip, please. We can help each other."

Is Matt Murdock maybe not an accomplice in all this, but a victim? Or is he trying to play her so she won't expose him? A few minutes later Rachel drags him away from the crowd to talk about the next scene and Jessica follows them to listen in.

They are already arguing in hushed voices when she's within earshot. "I just wanted to remind you to play by the rules. All I have to do is get a girl in trouble and you'd expose yourself to help her."

"No, I don't think even you would go this low." Matt smirks knowingly and steps a little closer towards the producer. "Then again, what do I know? When we met you told me that you think you will need a lawyer. Maybe I should start some digging for your secrets here."

"Fine...! Send home who you want, but don't blame me if Quinn takes over from me, because I'm incompetent and then I have no control over what gets aired. I'm the only one here who can protect you. Don't forget that."

She then storms away right in Jessica's direction, almost seeing her when Matt makes her turn around again. "Wait!"

Quickly Jessica hides behind a bush, glad that the sunset is over and it's pretty dark already. "I'll cut Zoey, okay? Does that work for you?" That was one girl who was bitching relentlessly about Elektra.

"Fine. Thank you. And maybe consider taking Lucy on the boat. Her jump scare was TV gold."

"You're horrible."

"I know."

* * *

KAREN

When this woman who introduces herself as Madison arrives at their office Karen really tries to be friendly, but her plans to make Nelson & Murdock look good on TV - which her boys negotiated cleverly - sound awfully cold and lacked character. When she finally has a moment alone with Foggy he tells her to relax. "It's really not that bad. Stop looking like that!"

"It's not us!"

"We get a new printer and computers and we get to keep them! And it will certainly help convince future paying customers to come back if they don't meet any rats in here."

She crosses her arms defiantly. "Waldo never set foot inside our offices and I know that you feed him, too. Don't deny it!"

"Okay, I might even have taught him a trick or two. But we won't have time for stuff like that anymore. We might even have to hire another lawyer after this." She sees Foggy's eyes shine at the reminder of their firm's newly acquired prominence. "I know what you think, Karen, but earning money will make it easier for us to pick clients in the future."

Grudgingly she gives up and she tries to even be friendly the rest of the day. The only thing the TV people didn't hate was Matt's apartment. The spartan look of the loft seems to go well with their aesthetics. Foggy warns them about the billboard, but they think it should be fine, because they can just shoot that portion during the day or put up curtains.

When they later inspect the bar though, Madison draws a line. "No. Quinn is going to kill me if we shoot here. I think there's supposed to be a rooftop bar two blocks from here that should work well. If you could go there with us-"

"No." Karen decides it's time to put her foot down.

"No?!"

"You heard right."

"Could you tell me what's wrong with that bar?"

Karen really doesn't like her attitude. Like their firm is not good enough for their garbage show. They're lucky to have a place with actual character that they could use. "Nelson & Murdock doesn't work for the bigwigs. We're there to help those who need it most. It can't look like we're rich and can afford to drink at a place like that regularly. We'll look like all the other firms."

"You know, I thought, you wanted to change that perception and seem more, you know... successful and capable..." When Karen raises her eyebrows slightly Madison rolls her eyes and shakes her head. "Fine, I'll ask if we can film here and at least clean the place up a little."

"Josie will never agree to that," comments Foggy quietly as she walks away. And he's right, because they all find themselves outside of the bar only two minutes later.

Madison stares accusingly at Karen who just shrugs. "I guess, she didn't take that too well."

"Oh, you think so...? Got any other great ideas?"

Karen smiles. "Actually..."

* * *

MATT

It's been a long tiring day full of dodging balls and trying to keep his dignity intact while stumbling around attempts from both Jessica and Rachel to make him get out of character. He's exhausted. Hopefully it's over soon. Rachel proved her point, but if he could get Jessica as an ally... And it's all far from being over, because now he's sitting in a boat with Lucy and she's trying to make conversation which he has no energy left to contribute to.

"Soooo... You're from Hell's Kitchen?" She's rowing slowly close to the shore, while the group is gathered in a distance, some of the girls probably watching them like hawks. It's weird.

"Born and raised." With a stiff smile he plays along.

"Have you ever come across Daredevil?" Since he heard Rachel nudge Lucy to bring her enthusiasm for superheroes up, this isn't such a shock to him now.

"Well..." He might as well use it for a little PR to make Foggy happy. "He helped our firm, Nelson & Murdock, to bring a dangerous criminal behind bars."

"Oh wow! Don't you feel conflicted as a lawyer to work with a vigilante?" She sounds really excited and less nervous suddenly. Okay, he knows she isn't entirely pretending, but he can tell that she's also not completely relaxed either. In the end they are in the same boat after all and maybe she truly approves of what he does.

"In this case that was the only way to get him."

"I know what you mean." Lucy sighs. "I wish we had someone like you in Chicago..."

Matt grins. "I'm sure there are blind people in Chicago, too."

At that she kicks his leg playfully. "You know what I mean... people who fight corruption outside of the law if necessary."

They laugh and fall into a brief silence afterwards.

"Today must have been such a waste for you. It's not like you can appreciate the landscape like we can. It's really pretty and peaceful out here. Apart from the cameras."

He may not be able to appreciate the view, but it's also never been so quiet for him. "I know it must look wonderful. I can hear the birds and the trees and I can breath in the fresh air. It's a nice change of pace. I've never been out of the city."

"Not once?" He nods. "Wow."

Suddenly there's a really loud bang and he can hear cheers from the shore. "Are they starting fireworks now?" Shit this is always a special kind of hell because of his senses and Lucy doesn't seem too happy about this surprise either. Her heartbeat quickens as the noise gets worse because there are more and more explosions, but she doesn't say anything. She just grabs hold on the boat which is a clear indication that she's afraid. "Are you alright...?"

"I'm sorry I just hate fireworks. Bad childhood memories," she mutters.

With her lack of focus on their direction and his senses going haywire he has no chance to notice the low, thick branch they are floating towards early enough to avoid it without causing suspicion. So, when another panicky half-jump from Lucy makes the boat shake dangerously Matt braces himself for getting knocked off the boat.

Acting blind can be a real pain.

* * *

_Note: So, who do you think should fish Matt out of the water? Jessica, Rachel, Elektra or Lucy?_


	4. Chapter 3: Damsel in the Lake

_This is more fun, than I expected it to be! :D It almost feels like you guys are writing this which makes me wanna point out that maybe I won't be able to include all the suggestions, even if they're ALL great. But I'll try. Thanks for playing along!_

_Anika_Ann: After looking at the last chapter again I realise you meant the branch at the end, didn't you? Nobody made that appear. That was just bad luck for poor Matty. :)_

_But eyerolling Jessica to the rescue! (It's not just you.)_

_And ceterisparibus wanted me to throw an enthusiastic Elektra into the mix as well. Nice touch!_

_Rin-Rin: So, the scars... hope you like the solution. :) Could come up again I think._

_Thanks also to Emily_Tams, cerrdwyn and rfresa as well! :D Looks like you guys are favoring Jessica so far to become at least friends with Matt at the end of this. But lets see. First, of course, some more bickering._

* * *

JESSICA

Well, that looked like it hurt and if he was able to see he should really have been able to dodge that branch in time. Or... he was just that committed to his role that he let himself get knocked into the water. Or maybe desperate is the right word for it. Why is that contestant on the boat scanning the water for him and screaming for help? Did he not resurface? Did he knock himself out with that stunt?!

Insane would be the right word then. Unless he's really blind.

Shit, she's gonna have to save that idiot's ass, isn't she? Jessica rolls her eyes and bends her knees for a big jump. As she takes off from the ground she hears some of the women cheer in wonder, while others are already running along the shore to help or watch or whatever. It'll take a while for them to get there though while her jump brings her to the right spot within seconds. Matt's unlucky date on the boat seems to panic some more when she looks up and catches sight of the PI "flying" in her direction.

And she was right to freak out, because Jessica makes such a big slash as she enters the water that she probably made that boat with the other contestant tip over. Woops. Hopefully she can swim. But first Jessica has to find Matt which is pretty difficult in the dark. At least someone from the crew - that seems to be waiting for a rescue team and twiddle their thumbs in the meantime - then decides to switch the big spotlights on and move them around which helps a little. Mostly it shows her where he isn't, though. Looking for someone underwater generally isn't easy, especially since the lake doesn't appear to be very clean from down where she is diving and Jessica has to blink a lot while searching for the body.

Suddenly she sees something that could help and that makes her worry at the same time. Worry about how badly exactly that idiot has hurt himself and about what kind of animals this could attract. Blood. If he hit his head hard enough to bleed he probably fell unconscious. Jessica follows the faint red trail to the ground and there she soon finds him. With the grey jacket it really was difficult to make him out on the ground which explains why she didn't see him before. She pulls at his arm when she suddenly feels something bite her leg, but she shakes it off easily and then she pushes against the ground to catapult both of them to the surface as fast as possible.

Breaking the surface makes some more waves and she can see Rachel stand at the shore with her camera guy getting splashed a little. Good. The others are still a little further away while Matt is still completely out, looking almost blue in the light. Great. Someone is going to have to revive that lying bastard.

Jessica carries his unconscious body out of the lake and is met with lots of anxious glances. Elektra is running their way in front of everyone else. While she puts Matt down on the ground she becomes painfully aware that there's a camera on her and that she's on a fucking dating show. They're gonna show this part in slow motion and run it in the promos as well, making it look like the start of some cheesy romance. Ugh. Obviously, Jessica hesitates to do mouth-to-mouth resusitation like this.

Besides she could break his rib or something, especially with her strength. So, she starts fidgeting awkwardly, while everyone seems to be yelling something. Where is she supposed to start again? Blow some air in his mouth... or maybe the nose? They could not make that look romantic, right? Or maybe she has to start with putting pressure on his heart...

However before she can decide what to do, Elektra arrives and pushes her out of her way roughly. She gets to work immediately, reviving him like a pro, but there's a desperation to her movements that shows she genuinely cares and isn't just excited about getting her hands and lips on him again.

Okay, good. Jessica did already pull him out of the lake. That should be enough. Glancing back at the other girls some of them seem concerned for their "price", others however look like they'd like to switch with the woman saving his life right now, because it probably brings her even more ahead in this bizarre race of beauty queens for the attention of a nice looking scam artist. Jessica has two working eyes, okay? Never pretended anything else.

Still... He must have hurt his head pretty bad just to keep his cover. Was she wrong about her theory after all? Could it be that he really didn't see that branch? Why would anyone risk his own life like that?

Wait, no. She was right. The tree... he asked for her help. He must have some very good reason to put up an act on this show. Or it goes beyond the show, because Matt Murdock was officially blind since he was a kid. She did her research. Maybe he could still tell her something about these producers. About why they are using him. Rachel's face looks very pale at the moment - almost haunted - while at the same time she motions for the guy behind the camera to get a little closer. Right. Somebody could die, but the show must go on. If that attitude doesn't tell her something... But does she have it in her to deliberately gamble with people's lives?

With Matt Murdock's life? Elektra is still fighting hard to bring him back. If he dies now Jessica would not have to put up with this silly show anymore and could just finish her case without anyone smirking at her awkwardness.

Okay, he doesn't deserve to die for trying to flirt with her, so when he finally starts coughing up water Jessica is actually tremendously relieved.

But mostly because he's the only lead in her case right now...

Everyone starts clapping and cheering while Matt still appears to be orienting himself. Then he just throws his head back to the ground with an annoyed groan as if he just remembered where he is, before Elektra offers him her hand and helps him up. Jessica has to acknowledge that he somehow manages to keep up the blind act after almost drowning, because his eyes not once seem to focus on anything. Strange. She really has to talk to him without those cameras present, so she decides to write him a note later.

"You totally saved his life!" Jessica nearly jumps from suddenly being talked to, by none other than the girl from the boat who now has water dripping from her curls. She extends her hand. "I'm Lucy! You're Jessica, right? I didn't know we have a superhero on the show! How cool is that?"

"I'm not a hero." Jessica sighs and puts some distance between herself and this Lucy girl.

She frowns at her. "Could have fooled me. I'm such a coward. I should have jumped after him immediately, but with the fireworks I didn't think clearly... and then I didn't see where he was..."

Oh, no she's not going to comfort her.

"And then you suddenly appeared and: Bam! I'm in the water, too. I started looking for him as well, but I couldn't see a THING, so I gave up and swam to the shore, praying for you to find him. And I haven't prayed since I was a little girl..."

Lucy keeps going like that and she only stops when Rachel approaches them to give Jessica her bag that she dropped before her jump. "One of the girls carried it here."

With a mumbled thanks Jessica grabs it.

"Do you want some dry clothes as well?"

Yeah... no. She's not changing here, where there are cameras. "I don't think so. I'm not putting on a show for you."

Rachel stares at her as if she wants to say something in her defense, but she doesn't. "Suit yourself."

Jessica takes out her flask to drown out Lucy's rambling about how she came out of the water carrying Matt bridal style - did she have to use that stupid term?! - and her general awesomeness. Flinching and trying very hard not to blush she turns to her new fangirl to make her stop: "Maybe next time, just be more careful where you're rowing."

She feels a bit bad, when Lucy starts mumbling some apology. The girl was already beating herself up for not jumping into the lake, so Jessica offers her a lame smile and her drink to make up for that comment. Lucy shrugs and makes a funny face after drinking, but she finally shuts up.

With her focus back on the rest of the crowd Jessica sees that Matt actually decided to change his shirt to please the producers.

Desperate and insane, she concludes. Which probably also has something to do with those scars...

* * *

KAREN

After Karen somehow convinced Madison to use that Indian Restaurant with all the colorful lighting she went home thinking she prevented the worst. Sure, originally she had planned to take Matt there herself sometime, but that's probably never going to happen anyway and she thinks he'll like it. It's gonna look nice and charming on TV, not cheap like Madison insisted, but definitely not too expensive either.

Back home though Karen realises that the show should be on and that it's probably time to check out what's in store for their little firm. Just to be prepared. She switches the TV on to everyone being shocked about some - probably lame - drama happening, standing around at a lake with loud fireworks in the background. Then there's an interview where a woman is retelling what was going through her head at the time.

"And I thought, like, why isn't he coming back up?" She has to be talking about Matt, right? Where is he? Did something happen to him?

There's a zoom on the water and another woman comes on. "Suddenly right next to me Jessica dropped her bag to the ground and just from a standing position jumped right across one half of the lake to fish him out of the water. It looked as if she was flying. I just grabbed her stuff and started running towards that place where he fell into the lake."

The camera shows a black haired woman diving into the water, while another one squeals as her boat tips over from the waves this caused. Karen sits down on her chair not believing her eyes. What the hell is going on in that place?! He didn't drown, did he? They wouldn't be airing this if he...

"I swam to the shore thinking there was nothing I could do, but pray that Jessica would save him."

Another woman rolls her eyes. "Lucy was too busy panicking about the fireworks FAR AWAY, to help the blind man sitting RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER. All she had to do was tell him to duck. Jeez..."

"I almost got Matt killed, didn't I?" Almost! She said almost! The woman - who's probably Lucy - crosses her arms and looks down. "Thank god I didn't. When she came back up with him, I was sooo relieved. But of course he wasn't breathing yet! And that's when Elektra took over."

A new face and a deep sigh. "Elektra. Of course..."

"So Jessica pulled him out, but she just put him down on the shore and then it looked like she didn't know what to do... I had to step in to help out." Karen sees the woman who just talked to the camera revive Matt and finally - thank god! - he's moving again. Okay, good... But, well, that looked close. Thinking she should probably investigate that show a little more Karen sees a smile appear on Elektra's face. "I just did what I had to do."

After that the camera's on Jessica, but she just stares at someone next to it and then she rolls her eyes. "I'm no ******* hero, okay?"

When Elektra helps him change his shirt, she seems to be enjoying that task quite a bit which apparently annoys a lot of the other women.

Karen however only has eyes for those scars. Car accident, right. But... damn.

A part of her curses the camera for lingering. The other part already knows that she'll watch the next episode, too. Crap. And she'll definitely look into that "Everlasting" show some more.

* * *

MATT

Rachel insists that he needs a better explanation for the scars the next day. He told Elektra it was a car accident, because that's what Foggy and him told Karen. If she's watching he couldn't just say something different, but he can hear the women speculate about it a lot, so he's aware that their discussion will end up on TV.

When Rachel and him finally come up with a believable story, he knows this one is going to hurt his friends. Karen did probably have her theories already, but having strangers come up with some as well might be a lot more dangerous. He doesn't have a choice, because they have to stay ahead of this. Melvin also offered to put the Daredevil suit on once or twice and make himself seen in Hell's Kitchen while staying out of trouble. If that works, he might even have a good argument against being the vigilante some day, because he was far away shooting for a TV show that time.

Lucy buys his new story about the scars immediately, but Rachel isn't content with the footage she got apparently. "She would have believed you anything."

"You just want more drama."

"No, I don't!" The vehemence in her voice and the truth in her heartbeat takes him aback for a moment. "Someone almost dying on your watch might be a regular occurrence for you, but it isn't for me! It was like that time... I was seriously worried about you, okay? Don't you ever let something like that just happen. I promise, I'll make sure what ends up on TV won't look suspicious. Please, just trust me."

It is a little difficult to trust someone like Rachel, someone who's telling everyone lies to make them dance to her tunes, but she isn't lying now and to be honest he knows what happened the day before affected her. She was a lot more stressed out and she didn't come to talk to him until she absolutely had to this morning. "Okay."

Rachel blinks in surprise. "Oh... okay, good. So, I think, you have to convince Jessica. Because if she believes you, then you'll convince every single one of our viewers."

Thinking about it her argument isn't bad, but at the same time... "Do you think I can? Convince her?"

"Yes. I saw her look. She's going to ask anyway."

For a barely perceivable moment a shy little smile appears on his lips. She looked, huh? He hopes Rachel didn't notice. "And how do you think I should approach her?"

"Well, thank her for saving your life. You must know how to do that. You have to hear it all the time, right?" Playfully shoving against Matt's arm, Rachel chuckles softly.

"Sometimes." Not as much as she seems to think. He smiles.

Rachel then starts to leave. "Good. And don't worry. I can edit it to look right and if it doesn't work we'll just use the scene we shot already."

It's a funny feeling having Rachel on his side, even when she appears to be telling the truth. But she's the TV expert and if she truly thinks he needs to do this to have people believe him, maybe he should. This is also about keeping his secret long term. It's about protecting Foggy and Karen. And maybe he'll be able to talk to Jessica without cameras soon. At least she didn't expose him after the message he left for her on that tree. She also didn't throw anything else at him. Maybe giving her that hint even made her fish him out of the lake. Which he really should thank her for, so that is what he opens with when he finally finds her alone on a terrace. He waits until he hears her greet him quietly.

"Jessica? Is that you? I've been told that you saved my life." It's strange being grateful for something he doesn't remember, since he's been unconscious the entire time. It did sound quite spectacular, though. Apparently him and Elektra aren't the only ones with unusual talents and abilities in this house.

Jessica however seems annoyed that he brought it up. "Couldn't exactly let you drown like that..."

"How would you have let me drown then?" Matt smirks.

"Well, you might find out if you insist on having me around." That could almost be mistaken for flirting. Or a warning. Maybe even both.

Jessica then seems to be looking at the cameras pointed at them. They both know they are being filmed. "The contestants are chatting about your scars." She gestures back inside.

Of course, he heard everything. "Why? Are they disappointed in what they're competing for?"

That makes Jessica laugh for some reason and shake her head. "No, you might not see them, but those scars do not look like they came from a car accident..."

She's pretty sure about it and that makes him think Rachel was right. He was an idiot to think someone who isn't friends with him would buy his very vague explanation. "You wanna know the truth?"

Since they are being watched she seems surprised and hesitates. "Um... here?"

"Yes. Here."

Jessica nods and then hurries to say: "I'm listening..."

"I've never even told all of my friends and if they are watching right now, I'm really sorry for lying to them before." Matt swallows, hoping that she will forgive him. "I'm sorry, Karen... I just... I didn't want you to worry."

"You thought a car accident wouldn't worry them?"

"Not as much..." Taking a deep breath he starts his tale. "I tried to convince them that I was an alcoholic, because I sometimes came into the office - we work together - with bruises or cuts. So when they started asking questions I didn't want them to think it had anything to do with the case we were working on. I didn't want them to think we should drop it."

"But it did have to do with the case." Jessica waits for him to go on.

Half truths are the best lies. "It did. We were up against a very influential criminal and his people thought the blind lawyer was the weakest link in our firm, so they threatened me and used more and more force. One time they even used knives on me thinking if that didn't make me back off, my friends would at least start asking questions. I had to tell my law partner and best friend the truth about it at that point, because he threatened to call the police."

It's pretty close to what happend which might actually make this work. He even warned Foggy about what he's going to reveal. Luckily he - same as Jessica - managed to sneak a phone on this mad TV set. Of course his best friend was not happy about dealing with the aftermath of that, with Karen coming to terms with another lie, while he's too much of a coward to also call her himself. "I made him swear that he wouldn't tell anyone. Couldn't exactly go to the police either, since dirty cops were also working for that criminal. I didn't even go to a hospital."

She frowns. "You didn't go to a hospital with cuts like that?"

Matt grins at her. "I can be quite stubborn when someone is trying to abuse the law like that."

That seems to make her a bit sceptical for a second, but then she smiles back. He can hear it in her voice. "Well, thanks for telling me. That can't have been easy to confess with not being able to say this to your friends directly."

"You have no idea..." He closes his eyes, praying in his head that Karen won't take this too hard.

"Sounds like you need this more than me at the moment." Jessica shoves her flask in his hands and before walking away she adds: "Good thing, you're not an alcoholic."

Matt smiles after her. Not because he thinks he might have fooled her, but because they fooled everyone. That bottle weighs nothing and he can not smell any alcohol when he opens it. But to keep up with appearances he pretends to drink from it. She must have slipped a note in there. He just has to find a quiet unobserved place to fish it out and feel the message she left for him.

First however Matt suffers through a tedious reality TV ceremony where everyone waits for him to make his decision and he just picks the one who's most nervous about the entire thing and justifies it with some lame, comforting words about her finding something that makes her happy elsewhere. Quinn for once approves of his choice and he learns that she also kind of wants to keep Lucy around for a bit, which is fine with him, because she seems to be more interested in Jessica now anyway. Rachel doesn't bother him about it, though.

The note in the flask says that he's supposed to meet Jessica by the lake after midnight and he knows if he goes she'll know that he could read her scribbled words and he'll have to explain that first of all. Hopefully she's not planning on letting him drown without witnesses this time.

Still he puts his hoodie on and escapes the house unseen through his bathroom window to meet her.

Twenty minutes later Jessica greets him with an accusation. "So you can see."

Matt sighs. "I really can't. But I can feel a piece of paper and make out the words. That's all you need to know."

She doesn't like the sound of that. "You said we could help each other."

"We could investigate the "Everlasting"-crew together. Tell me about the case you're here for and I can tell you everything about them that would help you with it."

"How do you know I'm on a case?"

Matt tilts his head to listen to her hearbeat more closely. "Why else would someone like you come here?"

The private investigator narrows her eyes at him. "First tell me why you are here."

"I can't tell you that. It has nothing to do with the show."

She's starting to walk away. "Wait! They just... Rachel knows a secret that I can't have revealed. It would ruin my life and most importantly my friends would pay for it as well."

"If you don't trust me after fishing you out of that lake, then how do you expect me to trust a full of shit conman like you. I even helped you asshole sell that lie about the scars..."

Shit, she knew it was a lie. Of course, she did. He just shrugs his shoulders. "I just don't want to hurt anyone else and I'll go insane if you keep focusing all your efforts on me. Please..."

Jessica is considering what he said for about a minute. "I'll think about it."

* * *

_Jessica might find the video on Rachel's phone in the next chapter. Do you want her to watch it or just keep it and decide to help Matt without knowing his secret?_


	5. Chapter 4: Sober & Drunk Investigating

Notes:

Thanks to Anika_Ann, a guest, tsooks, ceterisparibus and Max for comments and inspiration. :)

* * *

FOGGY

"For the record: You know something is wrong when the soulless TV people worry about you."

It takes a while to get Matt to admit that he was able to know that he'd get knocked off the boat despite the loud fireworks and he didn't even mention that incident when he called before to warn Foggy that he's going to have to explain the scars a little better. So, naturally, as a best friend it's safe to say that he's a little upset. "Matty, what the hell?! You could have died...!"

"I didn't exactly think it would go that far. But you always told me that I have to be aware of the consequences for you guys as well if I was found out. I couldn't react then, could I?"

Oh, Foggy should have known. That idiot saw no solution other than sacrificing himself. "Your life is more important than my career, okay? I thought that goes without saying. Seriously. What is wrong with you...?"

At least he knew that his law partner was fine while watching it, but then he didn't answer any messages on his burner until this morning after the episode with his new confession aired.

"I'm sorry, Fog. I just didn't want to ruin everything." He can hear some shuffling, probably Matt jumping around in the trees to stay clear of the cameras. "I think they're searching for me. I have to go back. You'll explain it to Karen, right?"

Yeah, that is the other problem he doesn't really know how to handle yet. "Buddy, if she watched it, she's probably going to murder both of us."

"Who? Karen? Come on, she'll understand. She doesn't murder people."

"I don't know. I think she can be terrifying." A soft chuckle on the other end tells him that Matt finds his terror kind of amusing. "If you think that's funny, then why didn't you call her yourself?"

"Um... I can't." Not true. He did call him somehow. Twice. "I really gotta go. Talk to you later!"

After ending the call Foggy is left alone to mentally prepare for Karen's arrival, still desperately hoping she didn't watch the show. She said, she wouldn't, right? That way, he wouldn't have to lie about anything at all and Matt could just tell her the corrected version of the lie himself later. That's not going to be easy for the guy, but it serves him right. Foggy is aware how humiliating it must be for Matt - Daredevil! - to be viewed as the weakest link of their little team. Rachel must have been very convincing to make him agree to this.

But she was right, it was a much more believable story than the story about this weird car accident. If anyone had doubts about that one, all they had to do was check hospital records and it would be very hard to explain why he didn't go there with severe injuries like that. And in the episode Jessica appeared to have bought it which is a good sign that others will, too.

When he hears Karen enter the office Foggy leaves his desk to greet her. "Good morning, Karen!"

She scoffs, which already tells him that he's probably screwed. "Hi Foggy."

There's a tense silence and she immediately goes to make coffee. "You want some, too?"

He nods, not daring to refuse her coffee with the tension between them that streches on and on with the silence, until she offers him one of the cups.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Here we go... "I promised him not to", he whines, hoping that she'll understand.

Finally, Karen meets his eyes and he can tell that she's testing him, when she crosses her arms. "I have a couple of questions. Are you going to answer now?"

This feels a lot like he's standing in front of a judge about to commit perjury. "I guess I have to. Shoot."

"When did he tell you?"

Matt had prepared him for this and in a way Foggy tried to convince himself that at least this way he wouldn't be lying as much. "I came by his place and he didn't open the door, but I heard something. So I entered his apartment and... well, I took a baseball bat preparing to fight a burglar or maybe someone send by Fisk..."

"Jesus, Foggy! Why didn't you just call the police?!" Her hands are on her hips now.

"This is my best friend, we're talking about here! I was worried someone was hurting him and I would never have forgiven myself if I hadn't done everything I could to help him." Why didn't he call the police before entering the apartment? It's a good question. "Also, I wasn't sure, alright? I was hoping I was just paranoid and I almost hit him as well when I finally saw him..."

"And you didn't call an ambulance right away?" He really wanted to do that.

"He begged me not to, okay? He had me convinced that going to a hospital, going on record would get him killed. He said he knew this nurse who'd be able to help and he asked me to call her. So I did. I wasn't thinking straight, okay?"

Karen sighs and pushes her hair back, while closing her eyes. "So, that's what you've been fighting about all this time, isn't it?"

She still seems very sceptical. Maybe it's time for Matt to tell her the truth about Daredevil or they are both going to lose her.

"Wouldn't it make more sense to threaten me with killing Matt?"

Foggy shrugs. "I don't know Karen. I don't know how they operate and frankly I don't want to."

"And he says that they were hurting him for a while..." Suddenly Karen's expression changes to something entirely different that he can't pin down. "What if you knew? If someone came to you and threatened his life? What would you have done to stop them?"

"I..." He hesitates, because he doesn't know the answer. What if he HAD found someone else in Matt's apartment who was hurting him, other than himself? It was obvious that he was prepared to fight the bastard and defend his friend, wasn't it?

"Foggy, look at me. I'm not mad at you." He can see a sad smile appear on Karen's face. "I'm mad at your bestie for making you lie to me." Okay, good...?

"Yeah... he's my best friend, but he can be a real jerk, you know?" And suddenly she's hugging him.

"I know what you mean..." She breaks away slowly. "Well, none of us are perfect, I guess... It's sometimes just like I don't even know him. And then this stupid show comes along and he's saying all these different things to complete strangers on TV... But maybe Matt has his reasons for lying, too."

"Yeah, maybe... And maybe sometimes it's more difficult to admit the truth to someone you're close to..."

She sits down at her desk and starts getting to work. But somehow, Foggy isn't sure that she was just refering to him lying before. Maybe it's the new lie she doesn't buy? Either way Matty's in trouble and he's definitely gonna have to face some hard questions when he gets back. Still, at least Foggy can be grateful for the fact that Karen really doesn't appear to be holding it all against him.

A few minutes later they open the door for the renovation crew and while Karen is friendly, she's just being polite and he can tell that she hates all of this even more now.

* * *

ELEKTRA

She never really forgot about that boy who was so easy to tempt, so deliciously eager to break the rules and yet so frustratingly righteous. Over the years Elektra kept telling herself that he was a fool for seeing the world in black and white, for refusing to commit a mortal sin when it might even be for the greater good. Still, she kept checking up on him, read those articles of Matt Murdock's role in bringing a powerful criminal to justice. And of course, she also read about Daredevil's involvement. Didn't look like he got rid of that darkness inside him, did it? So, when he agreed to do this ridiculous TV show, she was intrigued.

It also presented her with a great opportunity to get him to different places where she needed him and from what she knows he wouldn't hesitate to help her if there were people in need. Getting the producers to do what she wanted was easy. All she had to do was get them good sponsoring deals anywhere she wanted.

Except for Ireland. The green island was entirely Rachel's idea, her vision to explore Murdock's Irish Catholic roots. Elektra however didn't mind that little trip, because first of all she needed him to be comfortable around her again. And second... well, she was a bit fascinated herself. Not because the religious aspect appealed to her, but it's his ability to grow up with all these restrictions and still somehow manage to be his own man. Follow the rules only just so far and then make up his own. She's no theologist, but she's pretty sure breaking bones and putting someone in a coma isn't very Christian of him. And if this is as far as he wants to take it, she thinks she can go with that.

If she had known that Ireland would be such a bore, though...

Noone could blame Jessica for vanishing when their first activity turned out to be knitting. This is not what Elektra expected at all. They shoot a little workshop with everyone where this older woman is telling them all that knitting is actually something Irish girls used to do in this country to woo their men. Seriously... She has better ideas how to do that.

"I know, a lot of young girls like to frown at this now. But there's nothing that says dedication and love like an aran jumper, trust me." She then makes a dramatic pause, looking at all the polite smiles in the room and then she pulls out the ugliest piece of clothing Elektra has seen in a long time. "If he wears something like that he truly loves you." Well, now a lot of the girls are giggling. Sounds like she read the room right.

"Or in my case, maybe I'm just blind," adds Matt helpfully, which makes some of them laugh out loud.

Their instructor also nods approvingly. "And by the way, that doesn't mean he can't knit. Because we already started before you all, so we can show you how he does it."

The woman then starts explaining in great detail how a blind person can knit just by touch and everyone looks at him as if he's an ape who can do a neat trick. Matt does it all without a wince and she thinks she has never been more impressed with his ability to endure situations like these so gracefully. It's almost as if he's enjoying this. Or is he really...?

Later, they are all supposed to pick a book with some instructions. Lucy goes for the bizarre "Knits for Nerds" title and Elektra thinks this entire thing is so pointless when all this is gonna do is scratch his skin. She should just get him something with silk and be done with it.

And then she hears their teacher ask him what he's knitting and he holds up his work so far. "Well, it's supposed to be a red scarf... Unless someone gave me the wrong color."

* * *

JESSICA

Apparently it's not unusual for a show like this to go to different countries, which Jessica didn't really consider before signing up, but Ireland isn't too bad. At least there's lots of booze. She's not a big fan of the dark Guinness beer, but she wouldn't reject some Irish Whiskey. So, the day they arrive ends with her sneaking out to find the next bar and she feels a little grateful then for Murdock's ancestry bringing them there for a couple of days. Also, it's much easier to avoid cameras in a foreign location like this, just to have a drink.

Matt Murdock is still her best lead so far. He admitted that Rachel has something that forced him to go on the show against his will. But if he doesn't want it revealed, it really can't help her against "Everlasting", in case her clients want to sue the show. Unless she has proof. On the other hand, maybe if she pretends to be on his side and he already offered to help her with her case, they'll be able to find other evidence.

Jessica curses when she sees Rachel enter the bar, lock eyes with her in surprise and walk over to her. "What are you doing here...?"

"What does it look like?" She shakes the drink in her hand and watches as the producer sit down next to her and orders a drink for herself.

Huh... this could get interesting if she just gets her drunk enough.

Rachel then drops her head in her hands and exhales dramatically. "Let me buy you a drink. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't gotten Matt out of that lake, you know that? I have no idea what I'm going to do with him..."

No shit. She almost had the star of her reality show drown on camera. That probably was a rating hit, but it could just as easily have ended in another scandal. It's not like this would have been the first time someone died on the show. The contestant Ashley Scott committed suicide during production. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and PTSD. Someone like her probably shouldn't have been on the show in the first place. And then there was also that car accident by a former contestant who happened to be a reporter and posed on the show as a fashion blogger...

"He deserves better than all this. Those fake dates. All those women trying to win. You're the only one who isn't here for that."

Crap. This is Rachel trying to talk her into believing there is something going on between them. Well, it's part of her cover. Jessica can't exactly say that she doesn't care about Matt Murdock. So far she just pretended that she wasn't so sure about him. "You want me to make more of an effort."

"No. I mean yeah, but... I know you're neither here to win, nor are you here for him. I know you're investigating us." That makes Jessica frown at the woman. "I looked through your bag before I gave it back to you. You have gathered some interesting information on our former contestants and I'm here to tell you that I don't care what you're doing with it." She starts drinking then, very fast. "In fact: Go ahead. We deserve it. But Matt doesn't. He just got tangled up with me and he doesn't deserve to suffer for it. And neither do the people who count on him."

Matt told her that he's just trying to protect someone.

"So, he's not really blind, is he?"

Rachel just smiles at that. "Let's just say that whatever he's doing won't hurt anyone and leave it at that. Alright? In fact, I think we're all safer with him here. And with you, obviously."

That sounds like total BS. "What about the other contestants? Is anyone else here against their will?"

"No, actually. They're all here for him." Rachel finishes her drink while ordering another. "But he only seems interested in you, by the way."

Jessica pointedly rolls her eyes at the professional matchmaker. "Yeah, right. I bet you're saying that to everyone."

"Oh, I do. But with you I mean it." She winks, before getting up and leaving for the toilet. "You two could actually be good for each other."

Jessica of course sees that as an opportunity to use the code she observed Rachel enter into her phone. It doesn't take long for her to find a correspondance with Matt on her phone. It includes a video that Rachel shot and that she's in fact blackmailing him with. In case she doesn't have time to watch it in the bar, Jessica emails it to her own address and then puts the phone back as soon as she's done. Thinking about it, it seems rather careless for the producer to leave the bag and her phone behind with a private investigator. Especially since Rachel admitted that she herself went through Jessica's bag. That woman is no idiot. Maybe she just let her find what the producer wanted her to see.

Coming back from the restroom Rachel immediately checks her bag pretending to look for her money to order another drink. And then she takes out a knitted cap. "I want to keep you around, so take this. It's gonna help you in the next round. I don't expect you to make an effort with the knitting task, but I'm gonna tell everyone that you felt sick today."

"Why?" It's a legitimate question. Why keep someone around who's investigating you? Either Rachel has nothing to worry about, because she didn't do anything wrong or she's bluffing. Or she just really doesn't give a fuck anymore. The last one seems to fit her attitude in a way.

"You won't believe anything I say anyway." The woman's smile accentuates the rings under her eyes. Then she looks at the TV in the corner of the bar where there's a news report running that talks about the possible consequences of the Brexit for Ireland.

Turning to the barkeeper Rachel asks: "Is that true? Are you afraid of the conflict coming back?"

He shrugs. "Who knows? Everyone's been acting the maggot."

Um... the what? Jessica hasn't really followed the news that closely, but she listens to the conversation for a while, surprised to find that Rachel Goldberg actually seems quite interested in all this, although the guy she's talking to can't give her a very satisfying answer. So instead she settles for more beer. When she starts to quiz him on Irish traditions about marriage and romance, he's even less forthcoming. "Come on... Just give me something. Doesn't have to be real."

He leans on the counter and smiles at her. "Well, if you want to be romantic, you shouldn't just follow a tradition to impress someone. Do something that's just for them or even better: Give up something you like, if it makes them smile."

Rachel grins. "You mean, like their pride...?"

Grabbing her scarf and the stupid cap Jessica leaves the bar then, before she has to witness any more of Rachel's crap. For the entire walk to her hotel room she's contemplating if she should really watch the video that made Matt Murdock agree to this madness or wait for him to tell her his secret himself.

* * *

MATT

That conversation between Rachel and Jessica was... enlightening. Matt is sitting on the roof next to their bar, planning to at least run a little across rooftops, if not stop some crime while he's at it. Of course, he doesn't know the place, so he has to be a bit more careful than on his home turf, but with the smaller streets and buildings, it's actually a lot easier to move around. And damn, he missed this. Running free, the wind in his hair, most people sleeping peacefully, while he's on the hunt for criminals. He's not even annoyed when he hears Elektra approach him. "What are you doing?"

She jumps down next to him. "Following you. I thought, you might like some company. But if you want me to go..."

"No... no, it's fine." Still it's not like he wants to talk to her, so he just keeps going.

They come across two drunks getting thrown out of a pub, but their fight is too harmless to intervene.

"If you're looking for a fight, we could just spar, you know?"

Matt tilts his head. "You're serious."

"Well, I wouldn't be surprised if you had to blow off some steam after they made Daredevil knit." Elektra chuckles and he probably looks just as shocked as he is. "What?! You thought I wouldn't know...?"

"I was hoping it wasn't that obvious." He swallows. First Rachel, now Elektra, soon probably Jessica... This started with him trying to keep his secret identity and here he was, being found out by one woman after another.

Elektra shrugs her shoulders. "It was obvious to me, because I KNEW you. Not many people can say that about themselves."

Giving up on fighting for tonight he starts running back to the hotel with Elektra close behind him.

"It wasn't that bad," he says between jumps.

"What? Me coming with you?"

"Knitting."

Elektra laughs and then she shuts up suddenly, still smiling. "Oh, you're serious! That's... cute...?"

"Rachel convinced me that it's a hobby lots of regular blind people also enjoy. It's kind of calming, actually." He shrugs before running across three more roofs, to find himself right on top of the hotel.

Elektra then starts talking again, but Matt is listening to something else. There's a man in Rachel's room. Jeremy, the camera guy. Her heartbeat is going crazy. "You can't tell anyone what we did." He's not screaming, but he sounds rather menacing.

"You're... you're hurting me..." Matt starts going down to the window of his room as quickly and quietly as possible.

"Could you try to understand that I'm doing this for your own good?!" He's twisting her arm and she's trying hard not to make any noise. But when Matt knocks on the door, Jeremy stops and puts a hand over her mouth.

Matt knocks again. "Rachel, I need to talk to you about tomorrow's plan."

Finally, he hears her answer. "Wait a second."

Jeremy is whispering another threat to not tell anyone about this. Then he leaves the room, shoving back Matt aside, probably hoping that he wouldn't recognise the guy anyway and Matt finds Rachel sitting on the ground in a corner of the room sobbing quietly. He closes the door and walks over to crouch in front of her. "Thanks... Matt...", she manages out between sobs.

"Don't worry. I'm here." He pats her shoulder softly and suddenly he finds himself in her embrace. She is clearly still shaking from terror which reminds him of her conversation with Jessica.

"I... I... he heard what I told Jessica and..." Suddenly she shuts up. "I can't tell you."

Oh, but she has to tell him. "Come on, I can help you figure this out, whatever happened, right? I could be your lawyer if you think you need one...?"

That finally makes her calm down. "I can't do that to Quinn. Not again."

Jeremy didn't really hurt her much, but he'll have to keep an eye on him and with the panic Rachel just felt, this was probably not the first time something like that happened to her.

Five minutes later her heartbeat has slowed down enough and they both sit next to each other, resting their heads against the wall. "Are you gonna be fine if I go now?"

"Yeah..." Her eyes however tear up again, but she shoves him away which means that she needs to be alone.

After he closed the door, he hears her utter another thanks and then he quietly walks back to his room, already knowing who's waiting there for him.

"So, my clients are Nina's parents and they're absolutely convinced that she would never want to go on a show like this and that there is something very wrong going on here. And from what I heard and witnessed here tonight, I think they may be right about that."

Matt nods solemnly at Jessica. "They may be onto something, yeah..."

* * *

Notes:

Okay, you guys were a bit undecided on the last question in the comments. Someone pointed out that canon Jess would totally watch the video, others - like me - didn't really want her to, because it would just be interesting to have her not know for a bit longer and them working together without his secret getting out. Soooo... I chickened out of the decision and we're gonna find out later if she watched it or not. ;) But I think we all wanted them to compare notes and work together, so that's happening.

Anika_Ann: You're right! Karen would never believe this story. I mean, James Wesley would totally have told her about it if they were already threatening and hurting Matt like this. Of course, Foggy and him wouldn't know about that, so this should get interesting.

Those traditions I picked randomly. If they are completely inaccurate, just remember that these aren't journalists, but they're making reality TV. ;) Imagine Rachel finding this page online and running with it: /romantic-ireland-irish-stories-myths-and-traditions/

However, let me know if I get anything wrong about anything, alright?

Plus: Remember that adorable picture in which Kryten Ritter taught Charlie Cox how to knit? :)

Sooo, do you want them to go to Lisdoonvarna to meet the matchmaker? Or should they go to another country?


	6. Chapter 5: Gimme a Kiss, Choir Boy

JESSICA

She was about to step in and help Rachel when out of nowhere Matt appeared in front of her room and scared the camera guy away. He must have known what was going on and decided to help the woman who's blackmailing him. Sure, he didn't risk his cover, but Jessica has a feeling that he would have if knocking on the door with a lame excuse hadn't worked.

Seeing that made her decide to trust him and that's how she ended up in his room after checking that they really didn't have any cameras in there. Now he's standing in front of her, completely unsurprised to find her there and she is telling him about her case. "So, I guess you also heard Jeremy threatening Rachel in there?"

"I might have." His room however is on the other end of the floor and unless he'd bugged Rachel, his hearing must be pretty good. Interesting. That could be useful.

"Did you hear me talk to Rachel before as well?"

He hesitates, probably still contemplating just how much he's going to reveal to her. "Yes."

"Okay." If this is all she gets from him, fine. Time to discuss the case. "I don't believe it was an accident, when that former contestant and the producer died in a car crash. I think they found out that something was wrong here, maybe it had to do with that suicide..."

"Do you think Rachel was involved?"

"Probably, but I'm not sure to what extent."

"And Quinn, too," he reminds her.

"Maybe there are more. I think, we need to get someone to tell on them, because I tried but I didn't get any prove of my theory before." The more people know about a crime the more likely it's going to spread further, that they'll get caught or turn on each other.

Matt seems to be on the same page. "So we need to find out who else knows."

"Or we catch them doing something shady again. I guess you don't want to talk about being blackmailed."

He offers her an apologetic smile. "No, thank you."

Jessica waits if he has to say more, but he doesn't elaborate, so she drops the topic for now. "I kind of believe Rachel that Nina, the daughter of my clients, is here, because she wants to be, I just don't know why..."

"Well I can tell you why her parents think she wouldn't go on this show. I'm pretty sure she's gay."

Maybe. Or he just can't believe that she doesn't seem to be into him... "And what exactly makes you think that?" Jessica narrows her eyes at him.

"Well, let's say, I can tell when people fancy someone and it appears she's more... interested in certain girls. I notice a change in her when they're around."

Okay... that's slightly disturbing information. Not that Nina might be gay, but the suggestion that Matt can apparently tell when people are attracted to someone. "That's private, you know?"

"I can't really help it. Besides... You are on a dating show", he points out. "And while we're on the topic... I intend to keep you in the run as long as possible, so we can figure this out and I might eventually have to... come on to you."

Oh right. "Yeah, I know." Do they have to talk about this and make it even more awkward?

"Well, the audience would have to believe that there's something going on here romantically, so..."

Yeah, she knows this. Fuck. Hopefully he can't tell that she's blushing or something. "It's okay, I'll try not to punch you."

"Oh, okay, good. I just didn't want to do anything without your permission." Matt tilts his head and grins. "Maybe if you want me to stop just say something. Like you like knitting or whatever."

"You think I need a safeword?" Should she feel insulted or find it kind of thoughtful of him to offer?

He's nervously scratching his head now. "I know you don't need it, I just want to make sure that... you're comfortable with this."

Jessica frowns at him. "Just... let me start anything and if you want me to back off you say... I don't know. Chicken Tikka."

"How do I casually start a conversation- You know what? Alright. I'll be fine."

At least he didn't ask her to practise with him.

* * *

RACHEL

She wakes up from her ringing phone, but it's not her alarm. It's Quinn calling her. "Rachel, don't EVER switch off your phone again. I got a call from Jeremy yesterday that Jessica is fucking investigating us. You have to get her off the show, pronto!"

"That's not my fault! How would I know?" Or rather: Why would she care...

"Matt has to send her away."

He won't. "I'll try talking to him."

"Good. Meet me for breakfast in 10 minutes."

Wait, what?! "Did you fly to Ireland?"

"What do you think? That I just let you ruin my show? Again?"

"Be there in 20." Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

When she joins Quinn on her breakfast table, her head is pounding from a serious hangover, but her boss shows no mercy whatsoever. "You're not going to share your sob story again, Rachel. What's done is done. We can't change the past."

"I know. I won't." Quinn shoves a table in front of her and she shakes her head. "I'm not hungry."

"You look like shit."

"I know. Listen... there's nothing for Jessica to find. We just have to trust each other and nothing will happen."

Quinn's bitter laugh makes her head hurt even more. "Are you serious?! I mean, Jeremy is a psycho, but he wouldn't gain from telling anyone anything. You on the other hand have a habit of discovering your conscience and desire to change the world always in moments that suck for me."

"I'm sorry Quinn, but you said it yourself: What's done is done." She shrugs. "I've got a feeling, we'll not get rid of Jessica by sending her home. She's here for a case and she's going to solve it. We just have to proceed more carefully. Don't make any more mistakes." Rachel also hopes that Jessica will want to protect Matt, so the best strategy to keep her from exposing their crimes would be bringing them closer. But Quinn doesn't have to know.

"I don't like this."

Rachel then gives the woman her best smile. "I think she's not actually here because of the past. She's here because of one of the contestants. Maybe it doesn't even have anything to do with the show." Could it have to do with Daredevil? Thinking back, Rachel thought this season had some unusual contestants in the mix. Then there was Elektra's last minute addition...

"Fine. There's another thing: Matt has to start kissing the girls. Today."

Right. This is going to go great. 'Hey, Matt. You might have saved my ass yesterday, but could you do me a favor and start making out in front of a camera like I forced you to?'

She hates herself.

On her way to Matt's room Rachel tries to think of ways to convince him about this, but she feels like she's used all her arguments to make him play the game. No, that's not true. She could think of a few ways to talk some of the contestants up, but she just doesn't want to do it. Trying to manipulate him just doesn't feel right anymore.

So, instead she turns around on her way and starts checking if everything is prepared for their trip to the monastery. She wanted to have a location to explore Matt's faith, because Foggy told her that's a huge part of who he is. Kylemore Abbey also looked impressive in the pictures. Idyllic even. The building is a Castle in the green and pretty Connemara landscape, next to a lake and a nice garden. It's going to look like a fairytale on TV and there's a lot to see.

Well, one needs a little imagination maybe, because when they arrive her boss doesn't look impressed.

"A monastery. Really, Goldberg?! It does look nice, I guess. But I this isn't the place for steamy kissing scenes and if our suitor is as Catholic as you say he is..."

"Oh, don't worry." Jay joins them while the crew sets up the equipment. "We still have Elektra."

Of course.

Their contestants love the place. They get a lot of nice footage of them getting to know the history and architecture of the castle. Rachel makes sure that as many of them as possible get to lead Matt around the place and talk to him. She observes him as he takes it all in and suddenly really wonders how much of what the nuns are showing them he can picture and sense in his own way.

"Okay, make something happen. I'm bored." Quinn watches the recording with hands on her hips.

Without any challenges their trip does lack drama, until they get to a gothic church, where Nina refuses to go in and insists that the others should see the place without her. It's not much, but it's something.

They hear Lucy explain to Jessica that the man who owned the estate had this church built for his wife after she passed away. "He must have really loved her."

"Or he just had a lot of money to spent," comments the grumpy PI.

"Why is he walking around alone in there? Don't tell me these women are more interested in architecture..." Quinn groans. "This is turning into a history lesson."

It is a nice church though and Rachel watches as Matt navigates his way through it with his cane, as silently as possible. He's even making the sign of a cross which still surprises her. The Devil of Hell's Kitchen being religious is a bit fascinating she has to admit. There's a close-up of him now as he tilts his head, clearly listening to some sound. Or could he be praying? He's just walking by a confession cabinet when suddenly someone grabs him and pulls him inside to a loud cheer from Quinn.

* * *

MATT

"God, please help me win this thing. I could really use the money for my mother's treatment." He's just thinking that Annie's whispered prayer sounds ridiculously cheesy, even though it's too quiet to be intended for the cameras when someone pulls him into the confessional. "Ssssssh... Relax Matthew."

"Elektra, when someone sees this they're gonna think..."

"That we were making out in here? Good." Matt catches her arm before she can touch his face. Then he can hear her switch some devise on. "Okay, they can't hear us now. I had to warn you. At least one of the contestants could be dangerous, she may be working for the Yakuza. You have to be careful."

He shoves her away a little. "And why are you telling me now?!"

"I just found out about it! You think I'd risk something happening to you?"

He swats one of her hands away again and she giggles, when he releases an annoyed huff. "See you around."

And just as quickly as she came she's gone again. Matt tries to collect himself before stepping out to find that Jessica seems to focus on him, before she turns her head as fast as possible. He wondered why she didn't ask him about Elektra, actually, because she must have come across the fact that they knew each other in college. Maybe she didn't think it was relevant to her case. Maybe she really stopped investigating him.

But they wanted to observe the rest of the crew to find out if only Rachel, Quinn and Jeremy knew of any crimes that were committed. Jay seems to be encouraging Elektra in playing the villain, but the jury's still out on whether he is one himself. He's also handling Nina and he told her she didn't have to step into the church if she didn't want to. Matt doesn't know why she would feel that way. Or why she's there at all. Nina is three years older than him, a doctor and from what he can tell a beautiful and confident woman.

She wouldn't have issues finding a partner whether male or female. But he'll probably find out soon enough what's up with that, because he picked her to go out with him that evening. And he wants to have more convincing proof that she's gay, so Jessica will believe him that this wasn't just about his ego. He couldn't care less if any of the girls don't fancy him. If they have other reasons to be on the show however...

He intends to kiss Nina to see how she reacts. Matt knows that he's expected to do some of that anyway, he overheard Quinn telling Rachel who surprisingly didn't find the courage to bug him about it. After her breakdown the night before, he's aware that she's embarrassed and clearly avoiding him while he's more inclined to believe that she may be a victim in this. Foggy would probably berate him about that idea, delivering a long monologue about Matt's reactions to... complicated women and the one time he met Rachel she didn't exactly manage to charm his friend. Ever since Elektra Foggy was convinced that his taste in women is rather questionable.

After they leave the church, they go on a small hike and Jessica uses the opportunity to call someone secretly. Now, she is asking about Elektra. "I need you to use your TV connections and find out how she got on the show. Maybe some contestants were planted in this competition and I think Elektra knows Matt."

She did, in another time. After a minute Jessica sounds pissed off, a little more than usual. "I'm not jealous! Jesus, there's nothing going on between us. If you see us do anything, it's not real, okay? I told you he asked for permission."

Again the person on the other end is talking and Matt can't make it out. "Fine. I guess, he's not as much of a creep as I thought. Unless he's listening to our conversation right now..." He can sense her blush right before he tries to focus on something else. Like the wind blowing. The faint sound of a choir practise. Anything. And he tries to think.

Asking about the contestants might not be a bad idea after what Elektra told him. It can't hurt to find out more about who's in control of this and what they want to achieve. He's not sure he believes that crap about the Yakuza being involved - what kind of criminal organisation infiltrates a stupid dating show? But who knows how the rich and powerful tick? Maybe someone is having a laugh at his expense.

The trip to Kylemore Abbey was still a bit enjoyable he has to admit. He even had a little alone time to meditate, while Rachel created some conflict for the girls. His presence wasn't needed for this and to her credit: it somehow got resolved without a murder.

In the evening they travel to the city of Galway where Nina and him get to see a live music performance in a pub. After listening to it for a while he asks her why she didn't want to enter the church. "Well, religious people haven't been very welcoming towards me..."

Okay, here we go. She's going to come out isn't she? "I like women."

Bingo!

"So, why would you come here? You knew the suitor of this show wasn't going to be female, right...?" Tricking her like this wouldn't be too devious he thinks.

"Well, my parents don't know this yet, because I didn't want to confuse them further, and I haven't told all of my friends either: I'm actually bisexual." Oh. Okay.

"Why wouldn't you tell them? Is that an issue?" He smiles at Nina, trying to convey that he has no problem with that.

"Well, not for you, I guess." Nina laughs, clearly relieved. "It's just... some people are insecure in a way and they fear that in the end I'd prefer a guy, just because it's easier."

That makes some kind of sense. "So, can I ask: Are there any women here that you'd be interested in? I don't want to get in the way of anything." He can hear that her heart is beating faster and it sounds like Quinn also really likes where this is going.

"Oh, I might be..." She blushes a bit. "But I don't know if they'd be... I mean, they're here for you..."

"Forget the premise on the show. I think you're actually not the only one here who has other options. Like... for example Lucy seems to be quite obsessed with Jessica."

Her eyes widen while he grins. "No, that's just her admiring a woman with superpowers."

"Could be. But you'll never find out if you don't talk to her." Nina has kept to herself mostly. She should probably mingle a little more.

"You think? I mean, I could give it a shot I guess..." She laughs a little. "You're different than I... I didn't expect this advice from a devout Catholic."

"Well, I certainly didn't expect to find someone like you here. I probably should have." Statistically speaking, he should have thought of that possibility, instead of just jumping to a conclusion, because she didn't seem interested in him. "So, what about me then?"

Or maybe that changed, because now he can sense her moving a little closer. "I like you. It's just... you seem a little moody."

"Moody? Me?" He laughs out loud, genuinely surprised, because he honestly thought he was pretending rather well.

"Yeah... like these songs they're playing. They are nice and all, but did you listen to the lyrics? They're so depressing!"

She has a point. Every time he focused on the music, it felt so sad he didn't dare to listen to it for more than a minute. It's not the tunes, it's the words. Is that how others see him? The sarcasm, the way he tries to cherish the lighter moments in his life? Well, maybe for this evening he could do something about it. Nina seems like a nice person. She deserves some fun. So he gets up and walks over to the band to ask for something more uplifting. He could use it, too.

"What are you doing?"

Immediately they start playing something fast and happy. When he walks back to the table he holds out his hand for a dance and Nina grabs it reluctantly. "I don't want to sound rude, but can you do this, without seeing?"

"You know, even deaf people can dance by feeling the vibrations of the beat. I'm not good at this and you might have to make sure that I don't bump into anything..."

"Alright! I can try." She jumps up enthusiastically and takes his arm to guide him to a place with enough room to dance. Then she even takes off her shoes, which doesn't seem very smart, but he's going to avoid stepping on her feet.

It is actually a blast to dance with her and while they aren't trying any Irish dancing (Thank god for that!) Nina finds an easy rhythm he can follow and after one song others are also joining them. It gets a little awkward when the music slows down again. "I've had a nice time. Thank you for picking me for tonight."

"The pleasure was all mine." He really did have fun.

"Can I kiss you?"

He can fucking hear Quinn urging him on now, but it doesn't bother him too much. "I'd like that."

She closes the distance and brushes her lips against his, but he doesn't feel anything and she doesn't either. Matt still pulls her a little closer to whisper something in her ear that the others won't hear over the music. "We both know this isn't working, but I won't send you away, okay? You get what I'm saying?" He can feel her nod and give him a proper - friendly - hug and a brilliant smile when they break apart.

Could Nina be working for the Yakuza? Well, he doesn't know. But her story isn't that of someone who came on the show to maybe kill people. She risked an elimination by telling him what she did. Anyone coming here to maybe fight him or Elektra would try to stay in this competition.

Elektra succeeded in making him paranoid, didn't she? Apart from what she says there is no proof for any killers being among them. Except for her.

* * *

KAREN

She finds the orphanage where Matt grew up and pays it a visit as soon as possible to ask a couple of questions about unusual incidents with a certain blind boy in their care. And it turns out he had a lot of trouble adjusting to the circumstances and sometimes used violence. "Did you feel there was anything odd about him?"

"In what way?" The nun looks puzzled.

"I mean, he is blind and he got into fights. He couldn't have been able to hurt the other kids that much, right?"

"You think, he should have been scared?" She laughs at the thought. "Well, he went completely berserk sometimes and if he really wanted to-"

"He learned it from his father." Karen didn't see the other nun approach them. "Jack Murdock always got back up, too." Right, he was a boxer. Karen knew about that at least.

"Sister Maggie..."

"I think I'll answer the lady's questions. You can go." The woman hurries away, apologising to the older nun who seems a bit annoyed. Did she say too much?

"Well, actually..." Karen takes her bag to leave. "I think I got what I came for."

"Are you a friend of Matthew?" The tone in which the woman says his name makes Karen hesitate. It was kind.

"I'd like to be..."

"But he makes it hard to get to know him."

"Maybe." Exactly.

The nun looks at her as if she's trying to see through her. And for some reason she hears herself saying: "If anyone else comes to ask about him... make sure they don't hear anything... weird."

"Like a blind kid beating up bullies?" Karen raises her eyebrows. Is that what he did then? "Come and sit down. I'll tell you about young Matthew."

Karen puts down her bag and starts to listen to the nun's tale. She doesn't make any more hints about Matt's (former?) fighting habits. Instead she tells her about his struggle with losing his dad not long after losing his sight. She tells her about this mentor he had and the way he shut everyone out, especially after the mysterious man left. How he never really trusted anyone else to help him after that.

He still doesn't. "He has scars... A lot of them. I thought it was a problem with alcohol." Karen laughs bitterly. "That's what they kept telling me..."

The nun really doesn't like hearing that. "His father never wanted him to fight, so he started studying the law."

Sister Maggie does sound especially proud when she tells her how happy she was for Matt that he ended up becoming a lawyer. Or when she read those articles about his first big case recently. But that smile vanishes quickly and the way she looks at Karen then makes her feel like there's a warning coming up. "Someone else came a few weeks ago and asked about him just like you did."

"Who...?" Karen holds her breath.

"I don't know. The nun he talked to wasn't able to describe him that well." She sighs. "But that's why I decided to trust you. I think he caught someone's attention and not in a good way. I'll make sure the other nuns stay quiet from now on."

Shit. "Thanks."

On the way home she considers the things Sister Maggie told her. She understands that the woman was trying to explain to her why Matthew kept certain things to himself. She also seemed to care about him a lot, which is surprising, since there must have been so many more boys since then. Karen didn't even expect everyone to remember that one orphan from so many years ago and then she received so much intriguing information.

But apparently she isn't the only one digging and that's a bit worrying. What if Matt got caught up in something real bad? And who was this mentor of his?

She puts the new episode on when she arrives home and settles in front of the TV with some food she grabbed on the way.

And there's the first kiss of the season. With a girl that barely got any screen time so far. At least it's not Elektra. They pretend not to know each other for some reason, but Foggy says they were actually dating in college. He hates her, says that his best friend didn't care about anything else, when he was with her. Sounds like Matt found someone he trusted completely after all, but judging by the way he acts around her now, things didn't end on great terms Karen assumes.

After the date with Nina they cut to the morning and the women talk about the things they knitted. Well, Elektra just bought a silk tie for him, one that fits with her dress. Of course, she did. Matt is then supposed to pick one item and the woman who knitted (or bought) it would be sitting next to him on the flight to their next destination.

He feels everyone's work carefully and in the end he decides to put a cap on that turns out to be Jessica's. She doesn't look too thrilled, but that might just be her standard reaction. When he offers her the dark red scarf he knitted himself (and Karen is still a bit amazed that he actually did that) she takes it with a sigh and exchanges the one she is wearing with the one he made. He grins like a loon when she thanks him for it.

There is another one of those ceremonies where Matt sends another girl home, exactly the one Karen would have picked, too. Nina gets to stay. No big surprises there.

At the end they show Jessica and him sitting next to each other on the flight and the flight attendant asks him what he wants to eat. "Chicken Tikka" is what Karen expects him to say, but after an awkward pause he goes with the scrambled eggs instead. Jessica then raises a calculating eyebrow and he smirks at her.

Maybe she's missing something here and they talked about this earlier on the show. But then Jessica grabs his shirt and pulls him into a kiss. When she's done she unceremoniously starts unpacking her food while Matt blinks a couple of times and chuckles.

* * *

Notes:

Anika_Ann: You wanted Matt to give Jessica something knitted. :)

I feel like this needs a bit of action. Anyone up for it?


	7. Chapter 6: These Bugs Are Killing Me

JESSICA

From the look on Matt's face she could tell that he was just as surprised as her that her suggested safeword "Chicken Tikka" came up that quickly on the flight. She saw him swallow, surprisingly conflicted about such a simple decision and when he finally scrambled for the eggs option - apparently against his will - the little smirk on his face almost made her laugh out loud.

Well, at some point they would have to give the viewers some reason to get invested in them as a couple and this moment in which he struggled to let her know he'd not be against that, despite having to suffer through the even less tasty meal because of if, was as good as any. So, that's when Jessica decided to kiss him.

Even Rachel could not have planned that any better.

If you asked her what it felt like Jessica would say, that it was pretty damn funny. she still remembered the flabbergasted look on his face and the way he blinked in surprise afterwards. His lips luckily still knew how to do this instinctively.

A part of her expected him to ask if they could try that again, but he had agreed to follow her lead on this and he stuck to that.

Jessica even considered switching food with him and have some mercy, but that egg really didn't look good. When he almost ran to the toilet shortly after he ate it all she hoped he hadn't gotten sick because of it, but he did look a little pale when he came back.

The rest of the flight Matt was extremely tense. At least as much as she remembered, because Jessica fell asleep after one hour of listening to some music. The channels on the airplane didn't offer a huge variety, but she finally found something that wouldn't make her want to tear her ears off after five minutes. But apparently it put her to sleep which Jessica didn't like, although she probably needed it.

She woke up what must have been hours later to the camera filming her drool and at that realisation she kicked Matt's shin. "Why didn't you wake me up...?!"

"Why should I? I think you needed some sleep." He frowned at her and that's when she noticed that he still was very tense.

"Did you get any sleep at all?"

Scratching the back of his head he mumbled: "Um... no."

"But you didn't watch me sleep." She'd kill him if he did. Not for real, just in her head.

Matt looked confused for a moment. "No!" Gesturing at his eyes he reminded her of his blindness, but they both knew this wasn't what she meant. If he could tell if a person was attracted to someone, she didn't want to know what he learned from her sleeping next to him. Crap.

Although he looked so amusingly scandalised at the idea that she believed the good Catholic boy hadn't done anything creepy with his ears and whatnot. "Good." Maybe he was really preoccupied with something else.

They arrived in Japan shortly after, the tension never leaving his shoulders. If only she could find a way to talk to him without those stupid cameras, because it was starting to make her really nervous. But she decided it had nothing to do with her. She had a feeling that he was in his own head.

Then it appeared to get even worse when she noticed that strange noise. Well, everyone did. It was impossible not to hear, even inside a bus. Rachel was the one who asked their driver about it. "Oh, those bugs are the cicadas. They're the sound of the summer. You can hear them especially at sunset and sunrise. They sit in trees."

Rachel visibly paled, because that probably ruined some of the quiet peaceful dates she had planned.

"BUGS are making that much noise? That sounds like you're standing next to a construction site." Lucy exclaimed.

But the Japanese driver just laughed and in his accented English confirmed Jessica's fears. "Foreigner often find their singing annoying. Be prepared to have them wake you up before 6am."

"Singing...?" Now that's a weird way to call it.

As bad as it was for her, Jessica could imagine that this was even worse for the man with the good ears. And sure enough, she saw Matt hold his head in agony. Rachel noticed, too, and she could hear her arrange some noise cancelling headphones.

By the time they reached the hotel Jessica feared to hear the cicadas' full volume, because the place was in a forest, far away from noisy cities. Ha. Okay, maybe that's what shocked Rachel before. She saw Matt actually wince when the bus door opened, but after that he tried not to let his discomfort show. Which worked for about two minutes, until he had to throw up on the sidewalk.

Or maybe it was the eggs. Or both.

She really wanted to talk to him, but it appeared he was a little preoccupied with the show's doctor checking on him and he looked quite sick. So when they got to talk on their own briefly, she told him to get some rest and he just gave her with one ominous warning: "Keep an eye on Annie. She's dangerous. And please tell Elektra, too."

Jessica found the room of Matt's ex-girlfriend as soon as possible and checked for cameras when she entered, but there were none yet. Then Elektra made a quiet sign with one finger in front of her lips and pulled out a strange device while Jessica was ready to defend herself.

After she switched it on, Elektra started talking. "They won't hear us now. I feel like we might have something to discuss that isn't for everyone's ears."

Good call, actually. "Matt asked me to tell you that Annie's dangerous."

"Huh... I wasn't even sure that he took my warning seriously, but I had a suspicion, that something happened during the flight. I'll take care of it." She smiled sweetly and Jessica was wondering what exactly 'taking care of it' would entail.

Looking back at it now Jessica really isn't sure what to make of Elektra. She seemed to be just as secretive as Matt, but in her case Jessica feels more like she doesn't want to know what's up with her. Elektra has this vibe of being mysterious and challenging someone to try and figure her out and when you did she might kill you.

Trish told her she knows this guy Gary who is Quinn's boss at the TV network and his secretary was very informative, because she doesn't like him very much. Apparently Elektra did visit him and shortly afterwards there was another strange meeting which made Gary call Quinn for some corrections in their cast. He does that every season apparently, exchanging some girls for others that he finds more attractive... or others with wealthy sponsors. The Everlasting-team then has some candidates forced on them and others they get to pick from. Some are just suggested.

The secretary even found a list in his emails. Elektra, Celine and Annie were on it. So, all of these could have potentially gotten on the show for some weird reasons. Nina's name apparently featured in another list of suggestions from which only she was picked.

Elektra definitely knew more about all that than she was telling her and when she directly asked her what exactly she was there for all Jessica got was a shrug. "I found out that Matty was going to be the suitor, so I thought this would be a nice chance to reconnect with him."

"And you could just knock on the producer's door to invite you on this show."

"Yes." She flashed her a smile that Jessica knew not many men could say no to.

"You think others got on the show in a similar way?"

"Obviously." They were both thinking of Annie, obviously.

"Anyone apart from Annie?"

"Could be." Elektra raised her eyebrows. She clearly enjoyed their little chat and didn't give anything away. "Is that all? Because I have questions, too. Would you answer them?"

"Fine. Ask." Jessica crossed her arms, not used to the role of being interrogated.

"How did you get on the show?"

"Do you know who Trish Walker is?" A vague nod. "She's my sister."

"Right." Elektra then sits on her bed, crossing her long, skinny legs. "And what are your intentions with Matthew?"

What the...

* * *

RACHEL

Matt sighs in relief when Rachel offers him the noise cancelling headphones a couple of hours after they arrived in Japan. "Thank you. Those insects finally stopped with that insane monotonous sound, but I feel like I can still hear it." He even looks a little haunted.

"I hope this works. I've been trying to find a more quiet accommodation, but these pests seem to be everywhere. I had no idea about this, I swear."

"I know. You have other ways to torture your puppets." Rachel rolls her eyes at his remark, but she does feel bad because she suspects that the noise really must be some form of torture for him, even more than he admits. He puts the headphones away, passing an older blind man as he quickly follows the women in training clothes.

At least the cicadas can't be heard now and she hopes it's possible for him to meditate there, because that would be the next activity, one he actually suggested to her. One half of the group is facing the other half as their instructor tells them what to do and eventually describes a peaceful bug-free place somewhere far away. Matt sighs and the contestants laugh at that, before they try to concentrate on the mental image that's being painted in front of their closed eyes.

"You could at least have asked him to take his shirt off," Quinn says when she joins her behind a monitor. Of course her boss thinks this episode is going to be boring.

But five minutes into the lesson she stops complaining. Jane and Kelly have a hard time taking the exercises seriously as well. They squint while everyone else is relaxing and start to look for ways to make each other giggle or lose focus by making funny faces.

Lucy becomes aware of what is going on 15 minutes into it and she joins in by tipping Nina's shoulder with her finger and making her glare at Jessica for a moment, before she takes in Lucy's suppressed smirk knowingly. Quinn seems a bit invested in these two, but none of them are really sure if Matt's nudge towards Lucy was the right advice for Nina. They don't even know if the superhero enthusiast is interested in women. So far she made no clear indication that she could be. On the other hand: Nina has also been too subtle, probably.

Finally the group is left alone by their meditation instructor and that's when it all ends up becoming a lesson in how focused Matt Murdock can be. One candidate starts it by leaning very close and softly blowing some air against his cheek. She looks impressed when he doesn't react. They also take turns in whispering secrets into his ear, unaware that this is ridiculously unnecessary and then Kelly tries to tickle him to make him lose his concentration. Until suddenly Matt grabs her offending hand and pulls her close to retaliate clumsily on her arm, careful not to make it uncomfortable.

They all have a bit of a laugh then before going back to their rooms to change, with only Matt staying behind and indicating that they have to talk. "You're not allergic to cats or something, right?"

He looks a little taken aback. "Um... no. Why?"

"Because you're going on a date in a cat café with Jane tomorrow."

"Great."

His expressive eyes however tell her that nothing is great. "What's wrong?"

Matt sighs deeply. "Annie tried to blow up the plane."

"What?!" Did she hear that right? Why didn't he say anything? Should they be calling the police?

"Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to anyone." Okay, good. Still, that probably shouldn't relax her as much as it does. She is responsible for her contestants and her crew. A responsibility she didn't always acknowledge. "Elektra and Jessica are also keeping an eye on her."

Trusting Matt more than she should, Rachel congratulates herself in her head on getting mixed up in another horrible mess. She never would have suspected anything bad about Annie. "The quiet girl with the sick mom?"

"Yeah... that one."

* * *

MATT

He had a bad feeling about Annie as soon as they arrived at the airport, but Jessica distracted him, until he smelled explosives around the other contestant on her way to the back of the plane. He followed her quickly and when she arrived at the toilet where nobody could see what she did he pushed her inside and locked the door.

Immediately a fight broke out. One in which Matt tried hard not to accidentally hit anything that could blow up and make the plane crash. Luckily, Annie hadn't put her bomb together yet, which may have made it a little less destructive, but the psycho ninja dressed as a debutante couldn't care less if they both died that close to it going off. She made it difficult for him to avoid the explosives and finally managed to kick him between the legs.

But instead of leaving the cabin and either taking the bomb with her or getting rid of it, she again started working on it, apparently determined to carry out her mission. Matt however recovered quickly, because she didn't get him as good as she thought. So after dishing out a sudden hook that made her drop the package, he caught it on instinct and kept it from her hands, punches and kicks. The cabin didn't offer much room for good moves, especially while trying not to blow up. But he was able to slam her against the wall a couple of times and eventually maneuvered around enough to shove the threat down the flushing toilet, to Annie's astonishment.

She recovered quickly though and before he could ask her some pressing questions she decided to flee the cabin, kicking his hands away, to leave him alone in the aftermath of this little encounter. He couldn't run after her without outing himself. Although this woman seemed quite determined to have the plane crash, so there was no way he'd get sleep before they arrived safely in Japan. He had to concentrate on her for the rest of this flight.

Since he could smell some blood on his fist and the sweater, he took the bloody thing off and washed his hands. Folding the sweater over his arm to hide the evidence, he hoped that this covered it up when he stepped out again to return to Jessica. Annie was also innocently occupying her seat now. Maybe the danger was dealt with, at least until they were back on the ground, where the noise of the running engines wouldn't mess with his hearing anymore.

What he didn't expect though, was switching the airplane engines for those horrible bugs "singing" in an unbearable frequency. Still, he managed to focus every one of his senses on Annie as much as he could and he only lost her once when he had to throw up. That being his most embarrassing moment during this public farce, even worse than his pathetic plunge in the lake. Stick would have laughed at him.

And he did when his mentor also shocked him by showing up a couple of hours later, mocking his need for the noise-cancelling headphones. "Aww... Are you worried that you won't be able to sleep, Matty?"

What was he doing in Japan? Did he just come here to insult him? How the hell would he even know where they were shooting? They didn't actually talk openly because of the cameras, but while Matt told the old man to shut up under his breath, Stick was muttering insults at him. "Surrounding yourself with all these distractions... Don't you think you're going a little far in rejecting everything I've taught you?"

Talking so quietly that nobody apart from Stick would be able to hear, Matt defended himself angrily: "I didn't have a choice. And one of these distractions tried to kill us all, which I prevented, by the way." Annie was sitting right behind him, but had made no further attempt to harm anyone. Would it be enough if Elektra and Jessica had their eyes on her and he his ears? What was she up to? He should probably warn Rachel about her as well.

Matt could hear Stick snort in the other room, while the women decided this would be the perfect time to test his ability to focus. "You don't have a clue what your dealing with." That was the last comment from the old man before he left the building.

Stick's words are still ringing in his ears in the evening, as the annoying insects start to fully come to life again. Maybe putting the headphones on to get some sleep is a bad idea or maybe he should stay awake until they quiet down at night. But he didn't get any sleep the night before and Annie is fast asleep in her bed now, while Jessica appears to be doing some research and Elektra is lying awake, just waiting for an opportunity to fight.

It won't help if he doesn't get any rest and things don't apear to escalate right now, so he decides to lie down for a couple of hours, depending on his senses, with the exclusion of his hearing.

Big mistake apparently, because in the middle of the night he wakes up to someone pressing a cloth to his nose and falling unconscious before he has a chance to figure out what's happening. He comes to a while later in a different room, tied to a chair, listening to people talking in an asian language he doesn't understand. And, of course the annoying sound of the cicadas is making him a little nauseous again.

He's however determined not to find out what these people are planning with him, so he starts to test the ropes. They appear to be are pretty tight, which makes the wooden chair he's sitting on the thing he needs to break. Matt moves the chair next to the wall as quietly as possible. The next part is going to get loud though and he waits for the conversation in the room under him to hopefully be engaging and agitated enough that they won't hear him.

When he finally hears some cooking noises he decides it's now or never, so he slams the chair against the wall. But apparently these people also have good ears, because they immediately rush in the direction of his room. Not bothered anymore with the noise it makes Matt smashes the chair against the wall some more times and he just keeps going when two guys run in with their knives drawn. Matt then avoids a cut from one by jumping back, but the other one buries a knife in his leg, just when they all hear another fight break out downstairs.

Too preoccupied with trying to make the men hit him in a way that would put more pressure on the weakest spot of the chair, Matt can't focus on what's going on somewhere else, so he isn't sure if rescue is on the way and if he should be acting more helpless just in case. He earns himself a cut in his side for thinking too much. Time to focus: Matt manages to surprise the man in front of him with a proper headbutt and then summoning all his strength, he pushes the man behind him back against the wall making the chair finally break a little. Enough for him to move a bit more and loosen the ropes. He uses the broken chair to fend of some more attacks, until he is able to free his hands.

Now armed with a wooden chair leg Matt faces his two captors realising that it's Jessica who's keeping the rest busy downstairs. Tilting his head he figures she doesn't need his help, but he probably should make sure she doesn't see him fight either.

Blocking a knife on reflex it gets stuck in the wood, while he feels someone hit against the other weapon buried in his own leg and making him yell in pain. He hears Jessica curse downstairs, but now she knows where to look for him. So to make sure this is over quickly, he pulls out the knife in his leg and uses his most efficient moves against his opponents, ignoring all of his injuries.

As soon as the second one falls unconscious, Jessica storms in to Matt holding a knife in his hand and moving it in front of her face randomly, as if he doesn't know who she is.

"Calm down, asshole," says the woman who already pulled him out of a lake and grabs the bloody knife, before he can hurt anyone. "Care to explain how you knocked those two out?"

He shrugs. "They underestimated the blind guy and I got lucky."

"Yeah... right."


	8. Chapter 7: Hello, Matty

_Hello! So happy, you're all still there! Every comment, every kudos, vote or review, every tiniest suggestion helps me write this, so I'm glad that you guys let me know what you think. :)_

* * *

JESSICA

Matt Murdock is full of bullshit and Jessica is seriously losing her patience with him. She saw the video. She saw that he can fight and he's still badly trying to pretend that he needed to be saved. At this point it gets a little insulting that he assumes she hasn't figured it out. It's her job after all and she is not an amateur. She was actually planning to wait for him to share his secret with her, but pretending was never her strong suit. Standing in front of the blind guy who took out two of the men who kidnapped him, acting like he got lucky somehow, Jessica shoots him one - obviously wasted - exasperated look. "Yeah, right..."

They both know she's not likely to buy that. Ignoring that, he tilts his head and frowns. "Are you hurt...?"

"I heal fast." He probably doesn't, considering the scars. "You need stitches."

"I'm fine." With that he starts to search the unconscious men and only finds a paper written in a language she doesn't understand and he gives it to her looking in her direction. "What's written on this?"

"Do I look like I can read Japanese?" She sighs and takes a picture of the note, noticing that his name and room number are written on it as well. "You know what I mean."

"We need to know who these people are and what they wanted," Matt states the obvious.

Jessica crosses her arms. "The ones downstairs weren't exactly forthcoming with information when I asked. So I doubt these will talk."

Why isn't he moving? Is he seriously still expecting her to lead him without any cameras around? "I... I could make them talk. I can tell when people lie."

Huh... Is he suggesting they torture them? "Murdock, I don't think we have time to have a longer chat here. If it helps, I recorded what they were talking about earlier and I'll send everything to my assistant to get a translation." She gives him the old scarf she's wearing. "You're bleeding a lot."

He takes it with a smile, apparently completely unconcerned about his injuries. "You'll have to keep wearing the one I knitted then." Matt starts to wrap the grey old thing around his leg with the knife wound and puts pressure on his side, too.

"I can wash the damn scarf when you're done with it. Are you done being a dickhead?"

He nods. "Let's go."

They make their way up to the roof and Jessica rolls her eyes, ready to carry him, not to keep up the ridiculous pretence, but because he's hurt and she's not pissed enough to make him jump across roofs with a stabbed leg. Matt however immediately starts making his way across the roofs clumsily.

"I could help you, you know."

"I've had worse." He keeps going stubbornly, asking a little later: "Since when do you know? You weren't even surprised that I fought those guys."

"Since I saw what Rachel was blackmailing you with."

"Of course." He stumbles a little and Jessica catches him.

Consulting her phone she can confirm that they're almost back at the hotel. But... "Don't you think maybe I should drop you at a hospital?"

"No, I've got a first aid kit in my room." He huffs. "I just didn't expect to really have to use it."

Would he even be able to do stitches in his state? Despite his apparent abilities she's not so sure about that. So, she follows him into his room, expecting him to tell her to go, but he doesn't. Maybe he's also not sure, if he should be doing this alone right now. Also, she has some questions. "Do you think this has anything to do with Annie?"

"Maybe..." He tilts his head. "She's not in her room. She tried to blow up the plane."

Oh. So, that's why he was so pale on that flight. Matt takes off his shirt and grabs his stitching utensils, but he's hovering over the cut with a shaking hand and Jessica realises she can't watch him do this. "Stop it." The man probably didn't get uninterrupted sleep for days and he lost a lot of blood.

He drops his arms with what looks like relief. And then tries to give her that needle which makes her laugh out loud. "Oh no. I've got a better idea."

"You can't tell anyone else!"

"Wait here and don't try to screw your skin up even more."

She leaves, ignoring his protests and knocks on Nina's door. The woman answers in her pyjamas, yawning at her. "What's going on?"

"You're a doctor, right?"

Nina frowns suspiciously. "Yes."

"I've got a bit of a problem you could help me with, but only if you can keep a secret. I don't trust the staff."

"If someone needs help... sure..." Confronted with a serious matter, Nina appears to be waking up properly.

"You can't tell anyone about this."

She's nodding eagerly now. "I get it. But you're making me nervous. What's going on?"

"Follow me."

They hurry to Matt's room together where Jessica is met with the sight of their suitor bleeding a little less than before. He must have washed some of the blood away.

"Oh my god! What happened?!"

Matt first ignores Nina's outburst. "Jess, you can't tell everyone-"

"He got attacked. Probably by some gangsters connected to a criminal he helped put in prison or something," Jessica lies easily. "I found him like this and he doesn't want to go to a hospital in a foreign country. Too easy for someone to find him and finish the job."

"Jesus... how did he get away?" Nina doesn't hesitate. She immediately starts closing up Matt's wound and warns him before touching his skin, trying not to startle the blind guy. To her credit, the trained doctor treats him like a regular patient, not someone she went on a date with recently. She doesn't even look impressed with his abs at all.

Not like Jessica is, but she isn't blind, okay? He's fit. It's a fact. There's nothing unusual here for his freaky senses to pick up on.

Wincing a little Matt tries to come up with an explanation. "They took me from my room, but I got an opportunity to run. Luckily, Jessica found me in the streets. You can't tell anyone about this."

"I won't. I promised Jessica. But if people are after you, maybe the crew should be aware of that... Maybe you can get protection."

"Rachel knows and I have Jessica." Matt leans back, swallowing a bit. "Actually, I think I should send Lucy home next. It might get too dangerous for someone like her." For someone who's afraid of fucking fireworks, Jessica thinks. Yeah, with Annie in the group things might get complicated. What the hell is happening here?

* * *

RACHEL

Ever since finding out how close they've all been to death Rachel is barely able to keep it together. She never expected Matt's enemies to follow him on the show and make her entire Everlasting-family a target. She doubts anyone who really knows him would miss Jeremy, of course, but Jay and Quinn don't deserve to die because of her.

And then there's Matt who so easily convinced her that him, Jessica and Elektra would be the most qualified to deal with this threat anyway. He did proof it already, saved them all from dying in that airplane without her having a clue. So, doubting him would be ungrateful, wouldn't it? Not telling anyone and protecting his secret is only fair in return.

But she also doesn't want anything to happen to him. Rachel never expected to worry about the life of one of her suitors, least of all someone as strong and scary as Daredevil. On the contrary, in the beginning she felt safer than ever next to him. That's not a feeling she takes for granted. The scars were the first indication however that he isn't invincible and it seems like a handful of bugs can mess with his extraordinary abilities. Plus: He turns out to be one of those heroes who value the life of another over their own and he takes this to frustrating extremes. Risking to drown to protect his identity for example, which could only be for the benefit of his law partner, was ridiculously unnecessary.

So, yeah, Rachel worries. About Matt, about fucking Annie, about all of this ending in a televised bloodbath.

All her fault. Again. Just 100 times worse.

Returning from an early breakfast after a nearly sleepless night Rachel is surprised to find Nina in front of her door and the expression on her face doesn't bode well. At all.

"Hi Nina, is there a problem?"

"I need to talk to you." She looks around for whoever, entirely too spooked for Rachel's taste. Hopefully it's just some wardrobe malfunction she wants to discuss, not some life-and-death-issue.

No such luck apparently, because the first words that stumble out of her mouth are: "It's about Matt." Rachel groans inwardly. "I'm not supposed to tell anyone, but since you already know that someone is apparently trying to kill him..."

Oh, do they know that for sure? That it is about him? Or is it just what they told Nina? On the other hand... She doesn't want to play down Everlasting's past with death and murder, but blowing up a plane is a whole new ballpark of that shit. So, assuming this is Daredevil(-or-Murdock)-related probably isn't far-fetched.

"I patched him up yesterday," Nina explains.

Wait, what? Did he have to prevent another attack from Annie? "What happened?"

"Well, apparently he was taken from his room while sleeping..." Someone like Matt Murdock doesn't just get taken... Unless... he used those headphones she gave him and didn't hear anyone coming. Shit.

"Who was it?"

"They think it's one of his enemies. That's what Jessica said. And she told me to keep mum about the whole thing. But..." Nina raises her eyebrows and a sarcastic laugh escapes her. "All this sounds a bit more adventurous than I expected it to be and Matt would actually need bedrest for three days at least."

Rachel nods. Of course. That would mean no shooting and she's not sure how to explain this. "Thank you for telling me and for helping. You didn't have to do this." If Nina is worried enough, though, she might start telling people, so Rachel tries to calm her down. "But we've got a superhero on the show. I think we can trust her to handle this, so don't worry. Or do you want to leave, maybe?" Please don't! Rachel would feel a lot better with a doctor around who at least seems trustworthy.

"I'm not sure yet. But maybe if you need to shoot with someone else today... I think I'd like to tell Lucy that I'm not exactly straight to see how she reacts."

Considering that idea for a moment Rachel thinks that might actually work. "Nina, you're a life saver. I mean obviously - being a doctor and all!" She starts her laptop. "Let me check on the options and be prepared for some sightseeing later."

A nervous smile spreads on the woman's lips. "Alright, I'll be there if needed." She goes for the door.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Rachel."

"Me, too."

Rachel does some more research trying to find something for Nina and Lucy to do together and she thinks an Onsen, which is what they call a natural hot spring in Japan, should do the trick. It takes a while to find one that allows them to shoot there on such a short notice, but she organises one where they don't have to bathe nude. Luckily they both don't have any tattoos, because those are not allowed. Apparently to keep away the Yakuza, the Japanese mafia. Hopefully that's true. If everything goes well, she'll also send them into a karaoke box. If not, the other girls can join them. That should provide enough footage with a choosing ceremony the next day if Matt isn't able to do anything.

After setting up the plan B Rachel goes to knock on Matt's door. He takes a long time to open, probably still in his special cicadas hell, refusing to use her headphones again and get surprised like the night before. He looks like shit. If that was possible for him. His hair is all over the place, eyes only half open when he answers the door and she can see the pain on his face clearly. "Give me 30 minutes, alright?"

"Matt, Nina told me what happened, you don't have to-"

"I'm fine. By the time the café opens the noise is going to be bearable. I can't let anyone suspect that anything is wrong."

But it is. She can see it. Jessica's blood-drenched scarf is still lying on the chair. "You're limping."

"I might have to fight again some time and seriously get hurt. Let's shoot as long as I still can." She takes in his determined expression. "I swear, I've got this."

He's so damn confident, Rachel really wants to believe it. But at the same time, the fact that he's already expecting that things will get worse is not encouraging. "You think you'll get beaten again and you want me to stay calm?"

That easy smile that's becoming less and less reassuring the longer she knows him spreads on his face. "This isn't over, but next time I'll be prepared." There's suddenly a wickedness to his expression that makes it seem like he's looking forward to that and Rachel really shouldn't think of that as hot, but she does.

"Just let me know if you feel it's getting too much for all of you, alright?"

"Trust me, Rachel." And she does. Damn her, if this goes sideways.

Outside of his room again, Rachel leans against the doorframe for a second and sighs. She's screwed. They all are.

Two hours later they start their shoot at the café, just slightly behind schedule. Quinn joins her with her own coffee to watch what's going on. "This looks promising. Jane is a little bookwormy with the glasses, but it's a nice change. Makes her seem less like a bitch."

She was actually one of the girls who expressed discontent over their suitor in one of their first episodes. But she learned to shut up about it fast. Until now apparently, because Jane decides to let Matt know about it to his face. Bold move. "You know, I was a little disappointed when we found out that you're blind and I feel so bad about it now, after getting to know you a little better. I think it's kind of cool how this is going to show people how desirable a disabled person can be."

Ugh, and the way she says it. Nobody will believe that she learned anything.

Matt almost spills his coffee, while Quinn cackles. "Wow. You gotta respect her authenticity in showing us how undesirable a horrible person can he."

Rachel smirks at the train wreck they're filming, but it's hard to find it amusing when she's watching like a hawk for any sign that Matt's not okay. His polite mask is slipping on this date and as delightful as the surfacing sarcasm is to watch, she thinks he'd be better at pretending if he was 100% fine.

It gets even worse when Jane forcefully drops a kitten in his lap and the ball of fluffy furr makes itself comfortable right on top of what Rachel guesses is his injured leg. Watching as the animal's claws dig into him in pleasure while he reluctantly strokes it, is a priceless sight though and she'll probably enjoy seeing this again if everyone survives this season.

She should stop this, but she really doesn't know with what excuse. "This is genius. If we share this clip online, we will go viral."

"Matt, just go to the toilet..." He can hear her, right? But he shakes his head and she's not sure if it's because of the scratches or the constant nattering from Jane that his smile looks utterly strained.

Finally Rachel has an idea how to stop his unnecessary martyrdom and she whispers: "I can see blood on your shirt! Meet me in the bathroom, so no one else sees it."

Matt then hurries to excuse himself and grabs the kitten to practically throw it at Jane who immediately cuddles it to her chest, also making contact with the tiny uncontrolled claws to her displeasure. She gets rid of the animal quickly while Matt flees from the cameras and her.

Joining Matt in the bathroom Rachel almost laughs out loud, because she actually finds him sniffing his clothes and realising that everything is fine. "I lied."

Matt groans. "I should have known. Rachel, this isn't funny."

It is, a little bit. "No, you could probably get an infection from that cat clawing at your wound like that. Or worse."

He huffs, but before he gets to stuff his shirt back in, Rachel stops him to have a look. "Let me just check, while we're already here." Nina made it sound serious, but it looks like her stitches are holding him together for now. She doesn't see any blood coming through.

"Satisfied?" Matt's eyebrows are raised and she licks her lips when she notices that little smirk.

"Yeah..." She fixes his clothes for him, appraising his dashing looks once more. "Just trying to help."

"I know. I appreciate it." His expression is serious again.

Rachel smiles as he walks out and turning back at the mirror she sees that her cheeks are a little flushed. Shit. She's falling for him. On top of everything else. After they're done shooting at the café, she orders him to take the day off and rest a little. Maybe he won't, but at least she'll get a little break from fussing over him.

Time to let Nina and Lucy know that they are on.

* * *

MATT

He's never had any difficulties attracting the attention of women. They seem to find his looks appealing he guesses, without him making an effort. In fact, there were times when Foggy pranked him with smuggling mismatched clothes in his cupboard and he was still able to get phone numbers from several girls. Maybe it wasn't fair. Or maybe he just gives this impression that he knows how to please a girl. Which he does, by the way.

And of course, Matt knows all the women around him are very pretty. Even Rachel, although it's less obvious for others, because - like Jessica - she doesn't wear a lot of make-up, if any. The point is: Yes, he's attracted to some of the women around him. It mattered to him if Jessica showed a reaction when seeing him shirtless (He thinks, she liked what she saw, maybe.) and he should have been prepared for that, but he isn't. It's the appearance of Stick that makes him feel really embarrassed about it. That his former mentor is witnessing his lack of focus in a dangerous situation like this, is annoying.

And pushing everyone away to chase the Yakuza or look for Annie to interrogate her is not an option, because he's on a fucking dating show. A kitten purring on his injured leg is the least of his problems. Although, he didn't think of the possibility of an infection. Maybe that wasn't so irrational.

Annie is still missing from her room and so is Elektra, which is even more disconcerting. If one of them ends up dead, there is going to be an investigation and he's obviously going to have to answer some questions from the police. And what if they find the video Rachel took of him as well? Then he ends up unmasked and tangled up in a murder case. Not a good combination. He considers calling Foggy, but he'll notice that something is wrong and Matt doesn't want to worry his best friend even more.

So... Karen.

Taking a deep breath he dials her number hoping that she'll pick up after finding out that she was lied to. Although, she won't know it's him, because she doesn't have his burner's number. He wasn't even supposed to have a phone, so she's probably not expecting his call.

"Who's this?" He can't bring himself to answer. But she knows anyway. "Matt...?"

She always just knows things. "Hey, Karen..."

When he's met with icy silence, while she's probably contemplating how to react, he cautiously adds an apology: "I'm really sorry that I lied to you."

Okay, she's not screaming at him. Yet. Good start?

"And that you made Foggy an accomplice?" Hanging out with too many lawyers.

"Yeah, and that."

He's waiting for her to throw more of his mistakes at him, or yell at him, but she doesn't. Instead she just sighs which is somehow worse. "What do you want, Matt?"

"Um... I was wondering if you could help me figure something out."

'I'm listening." It seems with his quiet request the tone of her voice softened.

"I need your help, Karen," he start explaining. "One of the contestants here, Annie, she's dangerous and might be working for a criminal organisation..."

"I felt that something was off about her."

Really? And she only saw her. He was lucky to catch that subtle trace of explosives. "Okay, well, I didn't see it coming." Matt chuckles a little to ease the tension and only makes it more awkward.

"Anything else?"

Fine. Maybe including her will help. "Jessica is on a case here."

"The one you kissed." Okay, so Karen is watching.

"She kissed me."

"Fine. What's her case?" He can hear the impatience in her voice.

"She's here because of the doctor, Nina. Her name was on a list from the producer's boss. I guess Jessica's assistant must already be looking into that. But there was a second list with Annie's name on it, among others who ended up on the show."

"Who else?"

"Elektra, Jessica and Bedisa." There's probably no reason to mention the ones who are gone already. "And the guy who made the list at the network is Gary. Maybe you could check him out, too."

"Okay, I will. We'll be in touch."

Waiting for her to finish writing this down makes him even more nervous. Matt really didn't want to do this over the phone. "Karen, say something, please."

He can hear that she takes a deep breath. "I don't know what to say, Matt. I'll help you with this, but give me some time."

"Okay..." She's too generous actually. He should be grateful that she's even talking to him right now.

Before he can hang up she suddenly stops him to say something else. Eager and the terrified at the same time he listens closely. To the cracks in the line and the running coffee machine on her end. "Be careful..." She sounds nervous, too. Unsure. "Someone asked about you. I don't know who he was, but I don't think it's anything good, unless you have a distant relative you don't know about." And then she quickly adds that Foggy hasn't seen him either.

Karen is right. That isn't good. "Thanks, Karen. You be careful, too."

That last information has Matt's mind reeling again. Who could be asking about him in Hell's Kitchen? A huge part of him wants to jump on the next plane home, but he can't. They could all be in danger and he didn't even know. He's so desperate for a solution to all this that he's shocked when he suddenly realises that Stick is opening his window.

"Hello, Matty." And then his mentor adds without hiding the contempt in his voice: "Don't tell me I just scared you."

* * *

_I'm still trying to keep this as open as possible, but many seem to be rooting for Jess and Matt to get together right now and I'm going to assume it stays that way, unless you tell me that you changed your mind. Deal?_

_And just in case you're not rooting for those two: Elektra is gonna get more scenes later, when we get to her role in what's going down behind the scenes and Karen will also have some impact eventually. And obviously Rachel is developing quite a crush, too. But I'm not an idiot to think that anyone is actually rooting for her and Matt. ;) Not sure if any of these relationship - however they turn out - will stick anyway, because we all know the guy..._


	9. Chapter 8: Dating is War

MATT

Stick climbs through the window without an invitation and Matt braces himself for another condescending lecture. "What are you doing here?"

"The question is: What the fuck are you doing, kid?! Exposing yourself on TV like this?" He snorts.

Here we go. "To be clear: I'm not here because I want to be. I was blackmailed by someone who found out about me."

"Rachel Goldberg." Matt tries not to look too shocked that his former mentor knows that already. "You think I didn't hear you guys talk? And how exactly did she find out, by the way?"

It will probably not make it better to tell Stick that he spend a nice evening with her at a bar and afterwards when they were walking home - or to her hotel - he expected the TV producer to stay put while he helped out someone in the vicinity against a couple of thugs. But Stick has an idea already without him saying anything at all. "Yeah, that's what I thought. You'll never learn, Matty. No need to tell me that I was right."

He'll know Matt is lying if he denies it anyway. "And what are you doing here? Don't you have better things to do than insulting me and crashing reality TV shoots?"

"Oh, your show is the one coming to me. It's following the frontlines of the war I kept warning you about. It's happening right under your nose while you're busy... choosing... Mrs. Daredevil." If Annie wasn't one of the contestants Matt would have found this story absolutely absurd. But as it is he just sighs and sits on his bed "I see, you've seen evidence of what is going on."

"I prevented the plane from getting blown up." There's a pause after his admission.

"I see. Guess this blew up in your face a bit earlier than I expected it to. And did any of your potential brides turn out to be dangerous?"

"Annie." Somehow that seems to surprise his mentor and he frowns.

"Okay, I should have contacted you before maybe, but I didn't think you'd believe me. Now you have to believe me, right?"

That makes Matt laugh, because he's not ready to admit out loud that he might find Stick's story a little more convincing than he'd like. "You honestly expect me to accept that there's a secret mystical war going on on the sets of a stupid dating show? With cameras everywhere?" Matt chuckles. "And what? The girl I choose in the end will bring about the apocalypse or something?"

"It's your fault this is happening in the spotlight." Come on, Stick... This is ridiculous. "You were the one letting yourself get blackmailed into this and now we have this mess."

We?! Oh no, he's not getting involved in Stick's holy war again. Matt can see only one upside to all this. "At least you won't get to kill anyone on air, because I don't think you'd even be able to do this without getting noticed."

"They'll hardly put a murder on TV, even if it's caught on camera," the old man grumbles. He's probably not wrong about that considering the history of the show and the habit of covering the worst of it up.

"The last episode will be live." That fact should actually make Matt afraid more than anything. He can't afford any mistakes that way. So far, he tried not to think about it, but even if Stick is delusional, things have certainly become... very troubling.

"Of course." Stick grunts. "And I think you already know that I'll be there, too."

And right when he's about to tell Stick to keep his bullshit out of his life Matt can hear someone else walk in the direction of his room. Fast confident steps, an expensive perfume. Quinn.

"Shit, you have to go."

"What because your blackmailer's boss might find me?" The man snorts again.

"She doesn't know about me yet and I like to keep it that way." Matt opens the door to a big cupboard. "If what you're saying is true you need me to play my role."

And just as Quinn knocks on his door, Stick vanishes quickly. "Murdock! We have to talk!"

Hearing grumpy curses from the cupboard Matt opens the door to the furious producer. "Come in."

She looks around in the hall again to check if someone is there and then comes in closing the door behind her firmly. Then she looks at him for a couple of seconds without saying a word. She barely said anything to him so far. So this should get interesting.

"What is it?" Matt crosses his arms.

"Stay away from Rachel."

Okay, this he didn't see coming. Not that he ever sees anyhing coming... in more ways than one. "What? Why?! We're working well together..." This isn't what Rachel warned him about, is it? Quinn taking over, because her employee isn't delivering what she promised?

"She's falling in love with you."

Um... what?

Okay, he has noticed that she might be a little infatuated, with the way she's reacting around him. But he figured she wasn't going to do anything about it and he didn't think it was serious. It makes sense that Quinn is concerned about her show though, if she noticed it, too.

And of course Stick can't leave this uncommented either, because Matt hears the old man groan quietly in his hiding place. "She blackmails you and what? You flirt with her...?!"

Matt swallows and tries to concentrate on the woman in front of him. "Look, I don't know how you got that impression, but we're professional..." Ignoring the snort from the cupboard. "... and I am focused on connecting with the contestants."

"I couldn't care less if you fancy any of these girls." Quinn is probably rolling her eyes. She sure sounds annoyed. "I know Rachel. She might appear rational and tough, but I've seen her fall for two useless guys who were making her believe that she could do better. Who were pretending to be her knight in shining armour. But I'm not allowing that to happen again. She doesn't need a saviour. She has to learn to fight for what she wants herself."

Is she actually worried about Rachel? With the way she pushes her around Matt thought Quinn was the bossy, heartless queen of Everlasting. "I'm not trying to be any saviour." Not in public, he isn't. "She is the one who pushed me into this."

"Okay... good." The producer doesn't sound too convinced. "Because I don't want to see her disappointed again. And she's really good at this job..."

It didn't seem like Rachel liked this job that much, though, when he first met her. In fact she thought she was about to get fired and she was just getting used to the idea, before he presented her with a possibility to continue. He doesn't know why he's remembering that now. And why the next words slip out of his mouth: "Rachel would probably be able to do better than reality TV."

Why did he say this? He has enough enemies on this show... Quinn's heart is racing in fury, but she seems to stay calm when she starts talking again. "Yeah, she would. But then I won't be able to protect her. And unless you promise to do that you better don't give her any stupid ideas."

"Right..." Why would Rachel need protecting? "This is none of my business, but you seem kind of controlling. Isn't it her choice, where she works?"

Quinn sighs and already walks back to the door. "You know her for a couple of weeks, so you haven't seen anything yet. Don't get too close or you'll regret it."

"Is that a warning?" Matt winces, but not because of what she is saying. During their little talk he could hear the nauseating noise from outside the window coming to life again.

"It's good advice. Take it, as long as you still can." Grabbing the doorknob she turns around once more. "Of all the guys she picked I have to admit... you are actually the best. But we both know that you're not here for her."

Matt doesn't know what to say to that, because he does care about Rachel. Just not in that way. "I don't want to hurt her."

"Good. Then don't."

After Rachel's boss is gone Stick steps out of the cupboard again, bafflingly unaffected by the bugs. "I like her."

"I can see that you'd get along..." Matt slumps on his bed again, putting his head in his hands as he hears the cicadas "singing" their painful song.

"You see nothing." He's probably shaking his head. Matt has trouble concentrating on it while he's trying to tune out the bugs. "Let me give you one last lesson, boy. You gotta concentrate on the sound that you want to push back. Isolate it. That's the only way you can deal with it."

"Now that's a new tune. Let it in, to deal with it."

Stick huffs. "I'll laugh about the irony after we've won the war. Or at least this battle. See you around, Matty."

* * *

FOGGY

Why exactly did he never watch this show? It has beautiful girls walking around half naked in hot springs being cute and awkward. He hasn't really been able to enjoy this format when Matt was around and he was wondering if his best friend was about to say or do something that could get them all arrested. Since this episode seems to be just about the women bonding, he probably doesn't need to watch it, but he finds himself unable to switch it off. Well, in case they have to sue, he should know the programme very well, right?

Foggy is surprisingly invested in the scene unfolding on TV. The way Nina struggles to find a way to tell Lucy what is going on with her is partly painful to watch and at the same time strangely exciting. It's not like Lucy is unaware. They are alone with the cameras - the place appears to be closed for the public - and there had to be a reason to shoot this. So she must have had some suspicions.

But it turns out while Nina being bisexual doesn't appear to be a big shock for Lucy she herself doesn't feel the same way. Or she just never considered it. Nina takes it rather well and while the music underlines the disappointment Foggy can see on her face she also seems relieved to finally get that secret off her chest.

They cut to an interview then where Nina talks about finally being open about who she really is, that she is occasionally into men and that she hopes this won't mean that her family will try to talk up guys to her, always stressing how single they are. Apparently they did that before she introduced them to her first girlfriend. She figured this way her friends and family can get used to it while she's gone.

Her getting on this show must have been quite a clue though, but apparently Matt isn't her type. "He's more like a brother to me...," Nina informs the viewers. "But being more into some other contestants also reminded me that I never wanted to do that again. I never wanted to pretend and Lucy being so accepting and understanding made me feel that it was right to come on this show after all. I may have come here for different reasons, but I found friends here and I also hope that we can stay in touch later."

Finally a woman who can resist the Murdock charme. The others join Lucy and Nina later for a Karaoke evening where the girls get together in one little room and pretend to sing just in front of their new friends while a million viewers watch them on TV. However, Foggy can't help but notice that Elektra is missing. And one more girl who's name he doesn't recall.

Jessica is somehow sitting by enduring the whole female-bonding-party with one annoyed expression which isn't a big surprise. Her reaction shots are however the best part of Jane's painful Celine Dion impression. Lucy has a taste for metal as it turns out, but while she can't exactly "sing" her favorite song, her attempt to do it and mostly laughing throughout is a lot of fun to watch. Bedisa is the best singer in the group and when she launches into a popular 80s pop hit most of the girls are cheering for her or singing along enthusiastically.

"Jessica, it's your turn!" Kelly is the one pushing the reluctant PI to pick something and Foggy thinks if looks could kill then he would right now be witnessing a telepathic murder on TV. But apparently that's not a superpower Jones has, so instead she lets herself be bullied into choosing a song for herself.

Knowing that she's working with Matt and remembering that she even fished him out of the lake, Foggy isn't sure if she really only puts up with all this because of her case. Could something be going on between those two for real? Or are they just pretending? Foggy hasn't talked to his friend since the flight to Japan on which she kissed him, but he's also not sure if he'd actually tell him about it if he really felt something. Mostly because Foggy has a feeling that if they were actually attracted to each other they'd be the last ones to do anything about it.

Jessica is just about to start her song when suddenly Elektra arrives making the PI stare at her while the others squeal in drunken excitement. When Elektra declares that the song Jessica picked is one of her personal favorites she immediately offers her the microphone letting her steal the show while watching her like a hawk.

It's obviously edited with the intention of making the viewers think that Jessica is jealous of Matt's ex, but is she really or is something more serious going on there and is that why they aren't showing his best friend? Or why he hasn't called?

He'd love to ask Karen, but it seems like something else is going on with her, too. Something she's not telling him (which he has no right to complain about). Foggy also has tried to avoid talking to her about Matt's relationships on that dating show and he'd probably prefer to keep it that way.

So, he just waits and watches out for reasons to sue Rachel Goldberg and her team.

* * *

JESSICA

Rachel insisted on her being at the karaoke evening, to make it less obvious that the other two women were missing. Elektra returning in the middle of it however makes her even more nervous about where Annie might be. Especially since she smoothly slips away after the shoot without her getting the opportunity to ask what the fuck happened.

But does she even want to know? Elektra doesn't open the door at night either. Of course, Jessica could enter her room forcefully, but if she did something to Annie, there'll be police all over the place tomorrow and she doesn't want there to be any evidence that she knew something about whatever is going on here.

So instead she goes to talk to Matt. "Did you talk to Elektra?"

Stepping back to let her in Matt shakes his head in frustration. "No, I decided to stay away when I smelled blood on her."

"You think she was with Annie while she was gone?"

"I think she might have killed her."

Okay, so Matt thinks that Elektra would be capable of that. Shit. But Annie was very dangerous. "Annie tried to kill all of us."

"Believe me, I know." He shakes his head. "Doesn't make it okay. And we have to know why."

Somehow he seems a lot more closed off than when they were talking before. Not that she really minds. His intensity always makes her uncomfortable, because she's very aware of all the things he must be picking up with his freaky senses around her. But could he be hiding something from her again? Or is he just worried?

"Malcom found out that the list with Nina's name on it included a lot of women with medical training. Or martial arts for some reason."

That makes Matt look up in confusion. "You think someone knew things would get dangerous and wanted to give us allies to help fight it?"

"That's not the wildest idea I had after everything I've seen go down so far."

She expects him to smirk and make another blind joke, but Murdock just nods and sighs. It's probably the cicadas bugging him. "Maybe I should try to get some sleep."

Okay, he looks exhausted. Still, something is different about him. "I'll keep you in the loop."

Back in the hallway Jessica crosses Jeremy who thinks he's subtle as he watches her from the corner of his eye. Chill, dude. It turns out more interesting things are going on behind the scenes of Everlasting than your attempts to keep the past hidden. Or at least she doesn't think that this Annie issue has anything to do with it and that is a little more pressing. If Nina was actually picked, because she could help and she apparently is ready to do so, then Jessica's job has to be to keep her safe in all of this.

The next morning she has her breakfast after everyone else is ready to pack their bags. And she finds a message from Malcom on her phone saying that he got the translations. She calls him back immediately. "Please, tell me this is something."

"Hi Jessica! Nice to hear that you're alive."

He has no clue that the flight to Japan was a close call. "I'm not the one who was kidnapped. Tell me what was on that paper."

The urgency in her voice seems to come across. "It has Murdock's room number and your hotel scribbled on it just like you figured."

"And the other sentence?"

"Don't engage in a fight with him. I guess, they didn't want to alert anyone in that hotel."

Recalling the video of the blind man fighting Jessica chuckles a bit. "No, they would have lost. I saw him fight."

"You saw Matt Murdock fight?!"

"Yeah, he also finished two guys who were holding him, tied to a chair."

"Oh..."

"Yeah... still, not the weirdest things I've seen on this trip. Did you see that strange cap Lucy knitted?"

She hears Malcom laugh out loud. "That monstrosity was a cap?"

"I think she wasn't done with it."

"I can't expect it getting better, to be honest." He still sounds amused. "Anyway... the things they were talking about were more difficult to translate. But I think it has to do with some kind of prophecy. Apparently they believe in some super ninja fighting on their side. I can send you the full transcript in case anything rings a bell."

"Did anything stand out? In the way it was said?"

"Yes, but it doesn't make a lot of sense." Malcom then starts talking about black skies and some training which sounds rather weird. Was someone trained at night maybe?

Or maybe could it be that who they are looking for is blind?

* * *

ELEKTRA

"You're sure it's not about a black guy who got trained with sticks or something?" Listening to Jessica's phone call with Malcom some things are starting to fall into place for Elektra. Like the possibility that Annie could have been a member of the Chaste and tried to kill the weapon that the Hand has been looking for. She wasn't very forthcoming with information when Elektra asked her nicely, but it turns out she never needed Annie to talk.

"Could it be a code maybe?" No, it's not. The sentence Jessica repeated didn't make sense to her, because she doesn't know anything about Matt. But Elektra does. More than even he's aware of. And what all this could mean is slowly turning her world upside down. It's one of them. The Black Sky was trained by a man named Stick. At least that's what someone seems to believe. Could it be Matt? That doesn't seem likely, does it? He would never work for the Hand. Or maybe there was a way to make him? Push him over the edge?

It's kind of funny how him going on Everlasting put all this in motion. It got her on the show and other assassins, too, apparently. It put all of them in the spotlight as well. There could be more among the contestants or the crew. She should check if there are any new faces on there since the last season. Anyone who doesn't really belong.

Should she be telling Matt about this? But then he'll know that she lied to him. That their meeting in college wasn't a coincidence. He'll know that she couldn't have been able to fake her feelings for him, but she betrayed him. And then she left when it didn't look like he would come around to follow Stick again. He wouldn't be turned into a weapon like she was already and that meant they couldn't be together.

Unless she also left Stick, which she did eventually. And following Matt on this show now put a big target on his back. Or maybe it already was there to begin with and this way at least she could help him fight it. His fate or hers.

Or it would be their fate to fight against each other in the end. That would suck.

Elektra is still mulling all this over while she walks on the set of the next choosing ceremony. Matt will probably send Lucy home this time. Or will the disappearance of Annie mean that nobody else will have to leave the show this time?

What if he sends her home once he knows the truth about her? What if she won't be able to explain?

Suddenly a woman in a long red dress steps in front of her and Elektra recognises her immediately from behind, despite the different hairdo hiding a mean cut on her neck. Where her bruises aren't covered by the dress there's make-up doing the same job. And she shouldn't even be able to walk.

Jessica also seems shocked to see the woman in red being there and acting like nothing happened which the PI knows can't be true if she is any good at her job. In fact only hours ago this particular psycho was bleeding a lot.

After Matthew was taken from his room Elektra was sure that Annie must have had something to do with it, so she started looking for her. The woman who tried to blow up the plane then ended up attacking her on the way to the cat café the next day. It was a brutal fight. One in which Elektra also took a couple of hits, but in the end she pushed the other woman off a bridge and it didn't look like she'd be able to survive.

But apparently she did.

As they finally stand in line, Elektra can see Annie's profile clearly and as if in slow motion she turns her still perfect looking face to her with the sweetest smile on her full lips. "Good luck, Elektra."


	10. Chapter 9: Don't hate the Player

RACHEL

Not really surprised about getting send home Lucy doesn't look very upset which isn't great for the show. The contestants aren't supposed to brush it off like this when they lose the game. If they aren't invested why should the viewers be? There need to be tears of loss or desperation for being misunderstood or rejected. Best case scenario for a contestant going home early is that they take a lesson from this experience and recommend themselves for more reality shows. Otherwise Rachel isn't doing her job right. She needs to bring out everyone's madness or some kind of emotion.

But the girl sitting in front of her in the limo to the airport for a flight back home tells her that there was just no spark between her and Matt anyway. "I mean, I had a great time with him and the girls, but he has to say goodbye to someone and with my competition I get why he picked me." She looks out of the window thinking. "It can't be easy making that decision. I certainly wouldn't want to switch roles with him."

Hearing her genuine laugh Rachel also knows that she's not even pretending. Most times contestants don't want to show how affected they actually are, whether they really were into the suitor or whether they were in it to win it. Lucy seemed even kind of relieved to go. Maybe she should be, since recent events she's unaware of made things a bit more complicated.

"Are you looking forward to getting home? Is there anyone you've missed?" Hopefully she'll give her something to work with here.

"My dog." Great. A fucking pet is the first thing that comes to her mind. "He's still quite young and I've not been away for this long yet. I did miss him because he's the best company I have. My best friend moved to Boston a couple of months ago. We used to watch Game of Thrones together and argue about what's going on. It was strange being this cut off from him and the rest of the world for weeks."

Taking people's phones can have a strange effect on them. Having nobody to confide in apart from Rachel and her team makes it easier to influence them. And the world keeps going, things keep happening. If nothing else works... "So, you missed the finale." She's a bit of a nerd. Maybe that'll get her.

"Yeah, I think the first thing I'll do is catch up on our favourite show, so that we can discuss it." Lucy giggles, then she takes in Rachel's expression. "What...?"

"No, no... you probably don't want to know."

"Have you watched it...?"

Rachel shakes her head. "I've never been a fan. But I've read that there is a petition to reshoot of the last season."

Lucy's eyes widen considerably. "You're kidding... Why? No, don't tell me...!"

"I don't know anything anyway." Rachel shrugs. "I mean, we're almost done anyway. I could give you your phone back now, if you want to check."

"No, no. I can watch it... first thing tomorrow I guess..."

About half an hour later Lucy asks for her phone. The first thing she does, or pretends to do, is inform everyone that she's coming home. But then she also reads some things. Jeremy catches every one of her expressions while she scrolls through her phone, puts it down several times and then opens it up again to write to someone or look for something else.

It's enough useful footage for her. Now it just depends on how they're gonna cut it together. Whether the viewers will think that she's upset about the messages on her phone or the end of a TV show she seemed to care much more about than her own Everlasting departure.

Lucy even hugs Rachel goodbye at the airport, giving her a letter for Nina for when she is send home. Jeremy also shakes their contestant's hand and films her leaving. "Well done," he comments, not that anyone cares. "You know who'll have to go next."

Rachel tries hard not to roll her eyes. But it's not like she can tell the guy who's shooting this shit show that their lives are at stake and that the past is the least of their concerns right now. "I'll see what I can do. But don't worry, I've got this." She gives him a sweet smile.

It really puts things into perspective when the usual mind games aren't the worst things happening on set. But whether they all take this competition serious or not this is now around the time the show starts getting a bit less casual and more dramatic. A time in which people start confessing their feelings or reveal secrets to each other. Two things Matt will try to avoid at all costs.

* * *

JESSICA

When she wakes up she doesn't really know which country they landed in. All she knows is this: There are beaches and the people there speak Spanish, so Matt can show off his language skills.

Annie didn't try anything during the flight this time. Probably knows she's being watched. Jessica made sure that Elektra had her eyes on her while she slept a little. It was weird to depend on the other woman like that, since she didn't actually trust her, especially after Matt suspected that she could have killed Annie, as if that was something he'd expect her to do.

By the time they arrive at their hotel Jessica takes Nina aside to be blunt with her. "Your parents hired me to look after you."

After a moment of confusion a humourless laugh escapes the doctor. "Oh, why am I not surprised? They probably just wanted to know why I came on the show."

"But it's getting dangerous and Lucy left as well..."

"You think I should leave? But will there be more attacks on Matt?" Nina frowns at the PI, not believing what she's hearing.

"There is someone on set..." With her client's daughter gone Jessica's job would be done. She'd be free to leave this madness behind. Matt can deal with his own crap, right? Although, without having a medical expert around...

Nina sighs. "You think if something happens again he could go to the hospital?"

Based on her limited experience with the man? "No, I don't think so. But this isn't your fight. You don't have to..."

"I'll stay." Nina smiles. "I've not taken risks in my life and I feel like this could be worthwhile. And there's also a guy on set I like."

Okay, looks like Jessica might have to stay. "There is something you should know: Someone picked you to come here. We think it's because you're able to help." The woman's face looks alarmed. "There was a list of people with medical training and your name was on it." But was she planted there for Matt? Elektra or maybe even Annie?

"Wow..." With raised eyebrows Nina shrugs. "And you'll have my back as long as I stay?"

"I promise."

"Good. Because we can't leave Matt alone in this. He's blind." Well... not her secret to tell.

A part of Jessica is relieved while she makes her way to check what Annie is up to. But she's neither in her room nor is she with the others who are currently complaining about Matt going on another date with Elektra. "It's just that Kelly and me didn't even have alone time with him yet."

"I mean, you can just go and take your time with him. Interrupt them," Jane suggests to Bedisa.

"Yeah, right. That'll get us further. I'm sure." Kelly snorts.

"Hey, Elektra was bold from the beginning. Didn't seem to hurt." Jane shrugs her shoulders. "If you want to talk to him, do it. There's no rulebook here."

"He'll think we're desperate or needy..."

"I don't know," Jessica can hear Bedisa contemplate this while she sees Annie through a window rushing over the street and vanishing in an alley. "Maybe Jane's right. Maybe stealing him away is our last chance to make anyone notice us in some way."

Following the sneaky woman carefully, without any cameras, she finds her waiting somewhere two streets over. When her phone vibrates and she picks up quickly.

"Hey Jessica! How are things?" She hasn't told Trish what's actually happening since their flight to Japan. Jessica doesn't want her sister anywhere near this investigation if she can help it. She's done enough already.

"It's good. I'll just stay as long as Nina's still here." Jessica talks as quietly as possible.

"No big dark reality show secrets? Bummer, I was hoping if that journalist on the show last season was murdered you'd know by now." She probably would if she didn't have to worry about bombs and organised crime and a lawyer who's a bit annoying.

"Maybe she wasn't even murdered. Maybe it was an accident."

"Or maybe you're distracted."

"Trish..." Not that again.

"Come on, Jessica." She can hear the amusement in her sister's voice. "Have a little fun while you're working your ass off. He's hot and he's totally into you."

"It just looks like that because of the way they edit the footage and because of the background music. If you were here, you'd know." Rolling her eyes Jessica watches a man approach Annie with a bag. Could it be a weapon? It's not like she could have taken a gun on the flight.

"And what about you? Don't tell me you don't find him attractive."

She isn't blind. Jessica walks a bit away from her two persons of interest, to get her point across. "Look, I don't want to date to entertain an audience. We're just selling it. That's all this is."

There's a tense pause. "But I think you're fighting it a little too much..."

"Because you keep annoying me with it! It's just so fucking irritating that you of all people want me to start a public relationship, Trish." Her voice may have gotten a little louder there. Hopefully Annie and the guy didn't hear, but as she looks around again they're gone.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

What if she's off to kill Matt and Elektra? Jessica runs around the corner, barely listening to her sister. "I'm not saying that you should tell your innermost secrets. But Jessica, you care about him and you can tell him that when nobody is listening. You're protecting his little secret and you're even staying around when you don't have to. What happens on the show doesn't matter, but if you're not careful you'll miss your chance at something real."

"Yeah, yeah. See you soon."

* * *

KAREN

It is one thing to watch an actor you fancy kiss a girl on screen, but it is quite another to see a man do it whom you've developed a bit of a crush on while working with him. It hasn't happened yet, but it's only a matter of time now she figures as Matt is walking along the beach with Elektra, chatting... flirting...

Karen has no right to be angry with him, of course. She never made a move and now she doesn't know what she was waiting for. It was quite a shock when she was informed of their plan to send Matt on that show. He didn't even feel that he should maybe check this with her, although she was pretty sure their relationship was building up to... something. So she was casually presented with the decision that he was going to leave on that shoot short notice and all she did was laugh and joke about it.

At the same time it also felt like it was so out of character for him. It takes a long time to get to know Matt Murdock for real. Why then would he present himself on TV for strangers? It made her very suspicious. When even Foggy acted like this was all normal for his best friend, things seemed to make no sense.

Of course, now she knows that they've all kept secrets from each other and maybe that is almost a bit of a relief, because the reason she didn't push her relationship with Matt was because she felt if he knew who she really is or what she's done he'd judge her.

Now she thinks that maybe he would have understood. But apparently now it's too late, because now he's going to make out with Elektra and she can't take her eyes off. Their clothes are wet after walking into the waves and splashing each other with water and she can tell that the tension is real.

And of course that's when he calls her. Karen sees his name pop up on her phone and she can't ignore it, because she doesn't know when he'll be able to call next. But before she picks up she switches the volume of her TV off. Otherwise this would get embarrassing. "Hello?"

"Hey Karen. Any news?" His voice is calm and quiet.

"Wait a second." She takes a deep breath. "Okay, so... Annie: She doesn't exist. All the information the producers were given is completely made up it seems."

"Shit... I was really hoping you'd find more."

"Well, I have some more." She has to brag a little. "I was trying to figure out who made Gary pick her because I had a suspicion and it was right. He's the same guy who asked about you."

There's a pause, before he asks: "What does he look like? So that I can tell Jessica to..." Oh, really? It doesn't help him one bit?

Karen's jaw tenses. "I haven't seen him myself, but he's apparently not so noticable. Normal height, regular haircut, dresses ordinarily. Around 30 years old... He also has a deep voice and someone mentioned he smelled of onions."

TV Matt and Elektra seem to be done talking then. Not that she could hear it with her sound off, but she can see clearly that their lips are busy with other activities now. "Okay... we'll look out for him. Thanks, Karen."

"There's more." Ignore the stupid TV.

"Karen, please, if you see this guy again: Just run the other way. He might be a terrorist."

"It's not about him."

"Okay, go on...?"

They are still fully dressed, but with the way their wet clothes cling to them it doesn't seem to make much of a difference. How close is the camera exactly? Is this already voyeurism? But they have to know they're being filmed, right?

Karen swallows. "Well, Jessica is trouble, but the good kind I think. Elektra... you probably know a lot more about her than I do." Intimately. "And Bedisa checks out, too. I don't think she has very dark secrets. Her Facebook feed is very convincing. Only that instagram model, Kelly, documents her life more accurately. So, that's everyone on that list you gave me."

"Kelly wasn't on the list."

"No, she wasn't." Okay, maybe she did a little more than he asked of her. She was worried. While he was apparently making out with his ex. "I wanted to be sure they're all real. Kelly's account felt so plastic I had to make sure she's an actual person who eats and sleeps. Three years back she went through a very public break-up. The point is: you don't have to worry about her."

"Okay. Thank you Karen, really." She can hear him sigh a little. "It means a lot that you bothered to do this... I..."

"Don't worry. That's what friends are for. I'm sure they are missing you already. The star of the show..." She has to end this conversation now. "Bye Matt."

"Goodbye."

Karen hangs up and wonders if she just should have asked: "Did you meet someone?" He told her it wouldn't mean anything. That it was just for the firm and she believed it. She believed that no relationship he could build on a TV show could be as strong as theirs, but that was before she realised she didn't know him all that well. Before his ex showed up as a contestant.

What if he keeps dating one of these women? And... does she even like the real Matt Murdock?

Right that moment she watches as Bedisa walks towards them onto the beach with determined big strides. Elektra notices their audience, but she's apparently not determined to let it show. So the woman ends up standing perplexed on the sand not knowing what to say to get the blind man's attention that doesn't make herself look weird.

Elektra then turns to her with a sly grin, shrugs her shoulders and puts her arm around Matt while he is peppering her jaw with kisses. She's really owning her villain role. Does he know, though, what's going on there? Did he just ignore Bedisa and avoid an awkward scene this way? Okay, maybe he didn't notice her because of the noise of the waves, but after she leaves them alone again, Karen suddenly sees him tense and step away from Elektra.

A few seconds later the camera zooms out to show Jessica standing in a distance all by herself. Watching them. She then quickly jumps up on a cliff, far away from the camera.


	11. Chapter 10: The Makeover

ELEKTRA

Helping Matt with Annie seems to have brought down his walls around her. Thinking the Hand wants him as their weapon he was somehow ready to work with Elektra and they got closer, while he was starting to distance himself from everyone else. Even Jessica. She's not sure why, but she's not going to complain, because it is nice smelling his skin again, wet from their little dip into the sea.

But he's going to find out soon that she was trained by Stick, too, right? It's inevitable. Or Jessica will. And then she's going to have to explain that she was send to manipulate him. That his mentor wanted to use his weakness, his need for connections with other people, to lure him back to the Chaste. She was supposed to influence him, when in the end, he put the doubt in her.

And it festered for years and years until only a few months ago when she decided to separate from the guy who taught her everything. There were always times when she needed to cool off and be on her own for a while, but this time she wasn't coming back. She was done following his orders, not because she didn't believe him or because she didn't enjoy fighting in the war, having a purpose in preparing to face off against the Black Sky, but she realised that Stick was keeping secrets from her. He kept her away from certain confrontations and it pissed her off and made her think that maybe this wasn't everything in life.

It was fate that brought Matt Murdock back onto her radar. That made her want to find out what life with him would be like. At the moment it feels rather perfect, standing there on the beach, in each other's arms, ignoring that silly contestant who tries to interrupt them and is too polite to actually go through with it. The look on her face is priceless when Elektra doesn't move away and shamelessly refuses to acknowledge her presence.

Matt is aware, too, obviously. He makes his choice, without looking like an asshole, because he can't see her. Elektra likes it when he uses his blindness that way. Of course, noticing her would have made him look suspicious, but he could have stopped kissing her and instead he went all in. Teasing her, spoiling her. It is all barely appropriate for TV.

And then suddenly when they're finally alone - except for the cameras - he becomes tense and steps away, holding her in place. She can see the familiar Murdock head tilt as he's listening to something. Then he faces her and mouths the word "gun". To take a look she wants to shove him to the side, but he doesn't let her. He's shielding her.

What the fuck?!

Getting an idea why he's doing this Elektra decides to just pull him into the water again, when a bullet hits the sand right next to them. She's not gonna let him sacrifice himself for her.

They swim to a small hidden cave in the rocks, getting rid of the stupid microphones in the sea, but Matt hesitates to climb in. "We have to go back. I can't sense Jessica and Annie anymore..."

Elektra sits down, shivering a little. "We can't go back. They'll be looking for us with the cameras. You can't help her fight right now, or they'll film you doing it."

He's still standing there for a minute with his head tilt, until he finally turns back in her direction and sighs.

"We need to talk." Probably sensing her nervousness she sees him frown at her. "You should not have shielded me."

"But they want me alive."

"You don't know that."

* * *

MATT

It's not like he trusts her. She left him before, without saying goodbye, without... anything. But if he ends up hurting her, then at least they'll be even. While those other women don't know what they stumbled into. They were dragged into a sensless mystical war and if they're lucky they'll just get dumped on TV. He knows this is part of the show, but it brings out the worst in him. Actually being allowed to date several women at the same time, being expected not to choose until the very end and keep his mind open...

He's playing the game without intending to do so. And it makes him feel awful about it, because he's definitely aware that some of the "contestants" are actually interested in Matt Murdock. Apart from the ones trying to kill him or turn him into a weapon or whatever.

Plus, he has someone at home who's important to him as well and now this whole experience is turning into a rollercoaster of emotions he wasn't prepared for at all. Even without Stick showing up he knew that he was losing control over the situation fast. But pretending to be looking for a relationship without actually thinking about it is difficult. Would it be possible? Elektra at least knows all of his secrets. Jessica isn't interested in that obviously and he doesn't know how Karen would react to his double life. Foggy sure wasn't happy about it and he's the most positive person he knows.

When he heard the gun his first instinct was to stay in front of Elektra to protect her. He wasn't going to sacrifice himself, but he figured if he's the Black Sky, because Stick trained him, then they wouldn't want to kill him. Right?

They would probably try to kill Elektra and the whole film team to take him, but hopefully Jessica was able to prevent that. The crew is still alive and looking for them, so maybe it's all dealt with...

Elektra however doesn't appear to be convinced by his logic, even after he explains it all. Even after Matt tells her all about Jessica's translations from the group who tried to take him in Japan and how it must be him they want to win the war. He also clarifies that he doesn't believe in any of this crap, but apparently these people do.

In the end she still just shakes her head.

"There is something I need to tell you." He doesn't like the tone of her voice. "You will have to hear me out."

Given that he thinks nothing can actually shock him about her anymore, this should be interesting. "I'm listening."

He sits down on the opposite side of the cave while she's gathering her thoughts a little, before she starts: "I knew what you were capable of, before we met."

What...? Okay, that he didn't expect, but her heartbeat tells him that it's the truth and nothing but the truth.

"I was told to... to seduce you, gain your trust and get you to take your revenge on your father's murderer." Matt is too shocked to react. "But then I fell in love with you. And you know, I'm not lying to you now, right? This time, I'm only here for you. I swear."

"Who send you...?" A suspicion quickly form in his head.

"Of course, always asking the right questions. No wonder you became such a brilliant lawyer." A sad smile rushes over her face. "That's why I had to tell you now. It was Stick. He trained me, too. And then he send me to you, because he wanted you back."

"Stick send you to me? To test me or what?!" This makes no sense. He thought the old man had given up on him all this time and he only came back when he probably found out about Daredevil. Then again it was Elektra who reminded him of his desire to fight with his fists...

"You would have to ask Stick this question. All he told me was that you had a lot of potential and he hoped that as a grownup you'd understand what was at stake." Matt can't help the proud feeling in his chest when Elektra tells him about his mentor's praise. "He didn't say it like that, of course... But you were the one that got away."

Matt doesn't want to believe it, but it rings true and not just because of her heartbeat. The thing is... he's not sure if he wouldn't have given the old man who abandoned him as a kid a second chance back in college had he actually come back to explain shit to him. Instead of leaving him alone a second time. Through her. "And you're saying you're here for me now. Did you talk to Stick in Japan as well? Do you know what his people are up to?"

"Stick was in Japan?" She apparently really didn't know about this then. "Okay, I mean, it's no surprise. The Hand is pretty active there. It's why I wanted us to go there in the first place."

"Because You're with the Chaste."

"No, because I'm with you." Matt raises an eyebrow. "You want to fight bad guys and I gave you access to one of the most evil organisations on the planet. I left Stick months ago."

"So, you have no clue what he's up to." She can't shed any light on what's going to happen in the last location either then. And damn, he's starting to take Stick's madness seriously.

"I do have some contacts in the right places. I'm trying to find out." She comes closer to him then, but he moves back a little.

"Okay, I know you believe all this to be true and to be honest I always knew you were keeping things from me, but you've had several opportunities to tell me the truth here and you didn't." She wanted to reignite his feelings for her first. Make him lose his head again.

"I am telling you now on my own. Doesn't that count for anything?" Maybe.

"If you hear anything else, you'll let me know."

She nods. "Absolutely. No more lies..."

"Okay." He gets up to leave the cave. "I'll go look for Jessica."

Elektra sighs. "Matt, you have to remember, if the Chaste thinks that one of us might be the Black Sky, they'll want to kill us both. You understand?"

He does. Would they even blow up a plane, just to be sure? "You mean... Annie?" That would actually explain Stick's surprised reaction when he said her name.

"Annie. Possibly."

Why didn't the old man tell him about any of this? Matt then starts to swim back to the shore far away from the cameras, so he won't be noticed.

The idea that Stick apparently had taken one kid that was supposed to become the Black Sky under his wing himself was a little mind wobbling when Jessica first told him about it. It sounded way too sentimental for him. Matt then felt like maybe, maybe this was the reason he left him as a kid, because he was sure that this 10 year old would never turn into such a weapon with his obvious shortcomings. Elektra on the other hand didn't seem to have a lot of scruples. And Stick also trained her. It would probably make more sense for the Hand to think that it would be her. What if she did join them?

And then it hits him. If Stick was supposed to kill one of them and he wasn't able to do it then that shines a completely different light on the man. Could he really have ended up forming the supposedly biggest weapon of his mortal enemies, because he... got attached?! Did he even know about this before he startet the training? Or could it all have been an attempt to make the Black Sky loyal to the Chaste? A group that not only kills children, because they might grow up to become dangerous weapons and that would probably blow up planes with lots of innocents just to win a war?

* * *

RACHEL

It totally ruins the big surprise she planned when she finds Jessica fixing a wound on her arm with sticky tape. "Are you serious right now?!"

"Don't worry." She puts on a shirt that covers her injured arm. "I heal fast. This won't even bother me tomorrow."

Everyone on this show is mental. Rachel puts her hands on her hips ready to argue and take a stand when Matt practically storms in with Nina in tow. "What are you doing here?" Jessica huffs.

His hands hesitantly find her injured arm - right, acting blind - and he carefully rolls up her sleeve with very gentle fingers while Nina curses at the sight of her unorthodox bandage. "Matt told me that he heard you fight. Why didn't you come to me?"

"This is nothing. Honestly." Jessica sighs and sits on the bed to have Nina look at her injury. As she notices Matt's fingers lingering she frowns before he pulls them away quickly.

The annoyed doctor slowly tears the tape off and mutters: "Normal people go to a hospital with something like this."

Jessica smirks. "Newsflash: I'm not normal."

Matt chuckles a little while pacing nervously. "Where did Annie go?"

"She ran away."

Matt nods. "Okay, I'll go look for her. You're gonna let yourself get treated, right?" His unfocused eyes are directed somewhere close to Jessica's face and Rachel can tell the unconcerned PI is confused by his worries about her. So, instead of protesting some more she decides to leave it be. As much as she can.

"Yes, mom." Jessica rolls her eyes and he practically runs off.

Fine. She'll leave Nina and Jessica to it then. "When she's done you'll have to be ready for the cameras."

Hearing Jessica groan Rachel hurries back to her special guest who's already chatting with the woman who's going to film this next meeting. "I'm sorry, she's not ready yet."

"Does she know I'm here?"

"No."

"Good. Because you only have once chance to catch the annoyance on her face when she sees me. You better do it right." Trish Walker eyes Rachel, still a bit wary of her.

The producer smiles pleasantly trying to win the ex teen star over. She could be a great contact in the future after all. "Of course. I'm glad you finally agreed to help us with Jessica's makeover. Believe me I would have wanted to do something else with her, but we have to give our viewers what they want to see and I figured you were the only one who could convince her to play along."

"I don't think I can to be honest." Walker shrugs with her shoulders. "But I'll try and I think even that should be great TV."

"Then we're on the same page. Thank you so much for coming!" Rachel has been trying to make this happen from the beginning, but it's not easy to get celebrities on the show and when she first talked to the busy radio host she didn't want to have anyone mention the name Patsy and she also didn't want to piss her sister off. Luckily, she changed her mind.

"I'm just here for Jessica."

Half an hour later the camera enters Jessica's room - all evidence of the improvised first aid help gone - and then Walker follows, which makes Jessica groan and turn around cursing her adoptive sister.

"Hi Jess! I thought that maybe you need some guidance here. You're letting your lawyer get snatched away." She giggles a little and puts a hand on Jessica's shoulder.

"You realise that you're the last person who should be giving people dating advice, right?"

Walker shrugs. "I'm here to help you make an impression."

"He's blind."

"Hey! That's ableist. I think. And there's a dress code for the charity event I'm taking you to." She grins. "I have brought some fabulous dresses."

Rolling her eyes Jessica slumps on a chair. "Fine. Let me see."

The reluctant dating show contestant shuts down ten dresses quickly, before she even agrees to at least try one. To be fair though, it was only the second one with long enough sleeves. It's not like she wants to drag this out.

But Jessica still doesn't look convinced. "This is so short it makes me look like a hooker."

"I wore this to an award function!" Her sister is scandalised. "It depends on how you wear it." But she already gives Jess a longer one that again would show her arms.

"I have to talk to you alone." Jessica then grabs her sister's hand, takes the mics off and pulls her into the bathroom.

* * *

JESSICA

The moment Trish sees the big bandage on her arm, her eyes widen. "I knew something was going on!"

"You thought something was going on between me and Matt."

"Fine. But what can I do to help...?"

"Leave. Let me do my job without worrying about you, too"

She sighs. "I'll leave after the event... But I have the perfect dress."

Jessica then tells her a little bit of what went down with Annie and about that strange organisation looking for some kind of super ninja. Trish is obviously worried, but it seems she also has faith in Jessica's abilities. Mostly. "I told you to learn some martial arts or something."

After their little private chat Jessica tolerates Trish's support a little more. At some point she almost forgets the camera in the room again - after weeks of being filmed, that happens more easily. The dress Trish was thinking of also isn't awful. Jessica is aware that she brought it, because it's knitted and red and it reminds her of the scarf Matt gave her. But it covers her arms completely.

There is just one thing that really annoys her and that's when Trish takes out something else that belongs to the outfit. "That's a cape."

Her devious sister tries to look innocent. "Capes are in fashion."

"They also look like a parody of the worst superhero costume." She's not gonna look like one of those idiots.

"Nooo!" Trish whines. "They're pretty! Just put it on once. I promise, it looks nothing like that."

Remembering that they're being filmed Jessica endures it to shut her up.

But then she decides that Trish was right. It actually looked better with the damn cape. Shit. They find the right shoes to go with it quickly as well and Trish leaves her to get dressed herself.

Jessica looks at the woman in the mirror and while she still feels that this isn't her, she doesn't exactly feel uncomfortable. At least this looks nothing like what Kilgrave always wanted her to wear and that's a plus.

She meets Matt in the hotel lobby and he finally offers her another hesitant smile. Ever since Japan he has been rather closed off, more business-like than in the beginning. She takes his outstretched hand and he immediately feels the fabric of the dress on her arm. "What colour is this?"

"Red." Okay, maybe her face is also taking on that colour.

Matt's grin widens. "You're matching with my glasses, then." No. Not the same shade of red at all, but fine. He is blind after all.

"She's also wearing a cape." Jessica really hates her sister sometimes. Trish takes in the star of Everlasting and winks at her with a teasing smile.

"Seems fitting, since she has a habit of saving my life." Only because that idiot can't help himself when he's on camera.

"Of course, she has. And a cape is certainly a better look for a hero than horns for example." Trish chuckles and Jessica would swear that Matt is the one blushing now. "Hi! I'm Trish Walker, Jessica's sister." Trish waits for the blind man to offer his hand then shaking it enthusiastically.

"I'm adopted," Jessica hurries to clarify, glaring at Trish.

"Nice to meet you Miss Walker."

This is all such a waste of time. She should be out there looking for Annie and now she is on a stupid group date with Jane and Bedisa...


	12. Chapter 11: A Peculiar Shovel Talk

TRISH

After everything she has heard about Annie, Trish doesn't like the fact that the killer is nowhere to be found while she takes Jessica and Matt to this charity event for a group date with some other contestants. But it's not like there is anything they can really do about it and Jessica also told her that she did some damage to the woman. Maybe she just has to recover and she won't strike again that soon.

They arrive at a huge mansion with a wide garden in front of it and a big heavy door at the entrance where they tell the staff their names are on the guest list. Inside it becomes very clear that there's no overdressing for this and by the look on Jessica's face Trish knows her sister will find herself a quiet corner at the bar as soon as she can, ignoring the cute lawyer she's supposed to flirt with. That is why the radio host picked Jane and Bedisa as their company, because they didn't appear to be big threats for Murdock's attention. Bedisa has just learned that going up to interrupt a private moment is something she'll avoid for the rest of the show and Jane's personality is a bit of an acquired taste.

Trish almost felt bad for her when she tried to compliment Jessica's outfit and her sister forced the fakest thank you out of her mouth that was ever uttered, afterwards mumbling something under her breath that might only have been intended for someone else's ears. Trish wouldn't be surprised if she asked him to send the other woman home.

And while she's at the topic of Murdock's good hearing and his apparent fighting skills, they did briefly discuss if he could be Daredevil, but since the Devil of Hell's Kitchen made some appearances while he was on the show that seemed less likely. Unless there are two or someone is filling in for him.

It also seems like Jessica was right about her chemistry with him mostly coming out on screen. Did Rachel exaggerate when she implied that her sister seems to really get along with the lawyer? When she asks the producer about it while Bedisa is showing him her dance moves - close enough for him to feel her, obviously - Rachel takes Trish to a quiet corner. "Jessica told you what's going on, right?"

"You mean about Annie being a homicidal maniac?", Trish whispers back to her.

"Yeah, that..." Rachel puts the hair that fell out of her messy ponytail behind her ear and takes a deep breath. "I don't know. He was flirting more in the beginning, but something changed in Japan. He's more reserved since then towards her. But you should have seen him when she was hurt at the beach." Trish then catches a glimpse of her sister distreetly looking at him from the bar. "He definitely cares about her. Maybe he just concentrates more on the danger around us right now."

That would be a good reason to slow down, if he hadn't just put his tongue on every available part of Elektra's body... Well, even if he just cares about Jessica as a friend, it would probably be good for her to have someone around who's also a bit different. Although, knowing her sister she probably won't stay in touch with him after this. "Can you get him to talk to me in private? I'll owe you a favour for this, okay?"

Rachel's eyes light up at that and she nods eagerly. "The cameras don't follow him to the bathroom. You just have to take the mics off, so nobody hears you. I think I don't need him to make a fool of Jane on camera." She looks at the woman who is at the moment mingling with the crowd waiting for her moment. "You know, it's not like I enjoy doing this. But sometimes I just hope they later watch what they did at home and take some lesson from it."

Trish smirks at her. "You mean like: Don't trust TV producers?"

"Yeah..."

Trish raises her glass of whine. "Cheers to that."

* * *

MATT

Hearing that Trish has requested to talk to him in private Matt organises a drink for Bedisa and then swiftly makes a dive for the men's bathroom avoiding Jane's anxious gaze. He's not sure what Jessica's sister could want from him, except probably give him a shovel talk and his senses also don't offer him any clues what to expect when he finds her already waiting there and giving him some kind of look.

"I know what you're doing."

Okay, here comes the protective sister, accusing him of... something... "I'm not doing anything."

"Yeah, here you're not and that's exactly my point."

Huh? What is that supposed to mean? She doesn't know about Daredevil, right? That joke about his horns must have been just a coincidence... All they really know is that he can fight, despite being blind. They can't just assume that he does it every night. They don't know the circumstances that led to that video.

"You have to tell her." Walker's voice is stern, like there's no point in denying anything. "She's been through a lot. Had a run in with a mind-controlling psycho who told her what to do. She could use someone by her side that she can trust."

Shit. Maybe they figured out who he is despite Melvin posing as him in Hell's Kitchen. So, this must be about some kind of vigilante team-up. "Look, Miss Walker, I know, you mean well and trust me if Jessica ever needs anything she can count on me to help, but I'm better off on my own. My partner, Foggy Nelson, is my priority right now. We're still mending things after I screwed up everything and he was just starting to trust me again, when I got myself into this mess."

"Oh... OH..." Okay, or did he just confirm his identity to her? All he did was offer his help with Jessica's cases, right? "I mean... yeah, sure! I didn't know you were..."

Crap. Well, apparently now she knows.

"You won't tell anyone, right?", Matt pleads with her. Seriously, his night time hobby is barely even a secret at this point. Especially if the Hand and the Chaste also know who he is.

Now Jessica's sister somehow appears to be blushing quite a lot. "Of course, not! I mean... shit. You're blind and gay?! How did you survive growing up in an orphanage in Hell's Kitchen? Sorry, I mean, obviously you can defend yourself, I guess. Jessica mentioned that video. But you're probably trying to avoid using your abilities, right? If it's something you'd rather keep to yourself...?"

Come again? Okay, while Trish was rambling, Matt tried to understand how she got the idea that he and his best friend... Oh, he probably should have said law partner... And the way she's talking now it sounds like she doesn't even know about Daredevil yet. What the hell? "Um, Trish... Foggy isn't my... We've got a firm together. Nelson & Murdock? I'm not gay."

Now she frowns, looking just as confused and embarrassed as him. "You're not? Then why...?"

"I thought you wanted me to... work with Jessica?" Obviously no vigilante work. But, lawyers and PIs could make a team. Luckily, that sounds believable enough.

"Huh... well, no. Actually, I don't think working with her is such a great idea..." She also mumbles quietly: "Malcom still gets his ass fired every other day." Then her heartbeat picks up, probably because she remembers his good hearing that made it so easy to arrange this little meeting.

"Wait, but... what am I doing then that I should be telling Jessica about?"

Trish bites her lip, suddenly unsure. "I was actually under the impression that you have feelings for her." There's an awkward pause in which she waits for either a confirmation or a denial, but Matt's brain is only slowly catching up with all this. Luckily she can't read his heartbeat. "I thought you might be waiting for a sign from her... because you think she's just here for a case."

He went into all this thinking of it as some kind of joke. And so did Jessica. Okay, there were situations in which he felt that the smart investigator who saw through him from the beginning wasn't as uninterested as she was pretending to be and he was just teasing her about it. Nobody said anything about feelings. Flirting with Jessica was safe, because she would never seriously...

Although, he likes kissing her. And he was looking forward to doing it again. He trusts her and he worries about her quite a bit. Not she can't take care of herself... Well, she's been the one saving him so far. But he never wanted to pull her into this mess with the Hand and the Black Sky. He just has this habit of doing that to people he cares about. Nobody ever asked for it. Except maybe Elektra as it turns out.

"It's complicated." Ever since his encounter with Stick, ever since he found out that Jessica knew about his abilities and she saved him again, he instinctively distanced himself from her. Would he have done that if there weren't feelings involved?

"Then uncomplicate it. Be honest with her."

But if he is honest with himself, then he has to admit that he isn't completely over Elektra either and he knows if he'd never ended up on Everlasting, he would eventually have asked Karen out on a date.

"If you say she needs someone by her side, then that person isn't me. I'm sorry." Sure, Jessica can defend herself against Daredevil's enemies, but her sister just mentioned something about traumatic experiences and he knows a bit about those. It also explains her constant drinking. "That guy you're looking for should be someone a little more dependable..." Someone who can be there for her at all times. Who doesn't run off when he hears a siren.

"What she needs is someone who understands," Walker insists. "Someone who makes sure she's comfortable with very public displays of affection, someone who makes her smile and who would fight with her if necessary."

"Those were pretend displays of affection and pretend smiles.".

"Debatable." So, is this some kind of reverse shovel talk? "Just think about it. It could be worth the risk."

Matt stays in the bathroom for some more minutes, still quite confused by that whole exchange. He can't deny that there's a connection, but does he have time to seriously explore it? And would that be fair to Jessica? Would she even want him to or could it maybe wait until this circus was over and done with? Or will she not want anything to do with him after this?

In a way it was easier, when he could tell himself, none of it was real. But never seeing Jessica again after this is suddenly a real possibility in his head. One he really doesn't like.

* * *

RACHEL

While Matt and Trish are taking some time in the bathroom, Bedisa starts to realise that he probably left her alone. When she doesn't see him at the bar with Jessica Rachel sees her approach Jane. Jay and her told the girls that it's time to actually make an effort. Their time on the show appears to be coming to an end and they have to make every minute count now.

Rachel told them to appeal to the compassionate side of Matt and apparently they now "came up" with a competition about who's going to get the donors to spend more money on the charity that's supporting people with special needs and disadvantages.

They were even half-heartedly offering Jessica to join the fun despite her being obviously ahead in the race, ever since he gave her his scarf. But she declined, of course, and just watched and shook her head when Bedisa started to offer rich guys a dance against a check for a good cause. Jane, lacking any skills that could be useful at parties like these, tried to remember some card tricks - with a deck that Rachel easily organised for her. She somehow ended up donating more money herself at first, by messing up her tricks. In the end though, some guy took pity on her and decided to spend some money on the cause dedicating it to her "inspiring" efforts.

Since then, she kept entertaining the guests with more things she could try and fail at. Just when Matt is entering the hall again, Jane is attempting to juggle to enthusiastic cheers. "Huh, this turned around. I didn't expect her to become so popular while I'm gone."

Neither did Rachel. "To be honest, she's really growing on me."

Matt chuckles at that. "Careful, Goldberg. If you end up caring about your puppets, you might get yourself fired."

It's just a joke, but coming from him it really hurts. Maybe because she knows it to be true. Rachel looks at the ground, now eager to get this evening over with. "Trish is going on stage soon, introducing you and the girls to the crowd. You think, you can say a thing or two in Spanish?"

"Sure, anything to help." Matt orders himself a drink.

"Okay, you also have to pick a girl to spend the night with." Before he can protest she adds: "There won't be any cameras and you can just talk. Just take Jessica, okay? She won't mind and you can discuss the case with her."

Matt nods slowly, but he looks conflicted. "Right..."

Good. Maybe he's starting to really think.

* * *

JESSICA

Of course, he would pick her. Fuck. What she wouldn't give to know what her stupid, stupid sister talked to him about.

Shortly afterwards an excited couple joins her and she uses the opportunity to remind them that they're on TV and that another contestant told her the largest sum that was donated so far this evening was 100 000 dollars. "I think our viewers and Matt would be so delighted if you would also show us your generosity."

"Well, who could say no to such a nice lady?" The guy is now grinning at her, while taking out his checkbook, his wife plastering a polite smile on her face. Matt is also coming up to them now, a deep frown on his face, that disappears, as soon as the man shakes his hand.

"Looks like you're winning the competition after all," Matt now smirks at her, while the rich guy starts to explain the concept of their show to his wife.

"En el programa, varias mujeres compiten entre sí y, al final, la abogada busca a la mujer más bonita." She doesn't know what he's saying, but it's a dumb show and she's annoyed enough to still be in it. Whatever he thinks.

The woman eyes her and Matt more closely. Then she turns to Jessica and asks with a thick accent: "And what is it you do?"

"I'm a private investigator."

Hearing that she smiles brightly at her. "Good fit."

Yeah, sure. The guy probably doesn't care what she does for a living. Jessica smiles at them while he continues to explain. "Matt acaba de decirle que tiene una buena oportunidad y que ganó por esa noche, la afortunada."

Her suitor then interrupts the translation. "En realidad, puedo estar contento de que ella venga. Y gracias a ti, ella gana la competencia sobre quién recibe la mayor donación." Going by Matt's smug smirk and the man's awkward laugh he just embarrassed the asshole. Now she really wants to kiss him.

And the rich wife seems to agree. "Keep him," she says to her and winks.

Jessica laughs and she is about to take a sip from her Champagne that she has criminally neglected since it was dropped next to her, when Matt suddenly stops her, to take her away. "Can I talk to you alone?"

Alone, as in without cameras? He can't spend half the night in the bathroom, can he?

Outside the hall Matt leads her to a window followed by the camera guy, until his hand finds a windowsill where he puts his glass down. He expects her to do the same, but Jessica isn't that easy to separate from her liquor tonight, so he ends up taking it from her hand against her will while she whimpers a little. "Come on, Jess, you can drink that later." They're supposed to be flirting, but now she's a little pissed at him, so she not so accidentally - she isn't that drunk - steps on his foot and he bears it with a tight smile.

Matt then leans against the wall next to the window with an easy smile on his face and a question in his eyes. Fine at least he doesn't want to sell their fake relationship by talking to each other. Making out is certainly easier and if he's still waiting for her to make the first step, then that's fine with her. Jessica leans in slowly, waiting for him to pull away in case she got the wrong idea, but instead he meets her lips halfway, prepared for the kiss this time. On the flight she did shock-snog him maybe.

It is also very different from the kisses he shared with Elektra on that beach, Jessica can't help noticing. But she also has to admit that this case does turn out to have a quite surprising upside, when she can feel his tongue glide against hers. She can even hear him sigh when her finger start to mess up his hair while she pulls his body closer.

Is this still them pretending?

Then suddenly as things get a little more heated Matt knocks down the glasses and the whole floor is covered in Champagne and shards. "I'm so sorry...!" Is he really, though? Did he just do that on purpose? He's not really the clumsy type. "Are you okay?"

He can probably smell that there's blood on her foot now. "Just a small cut."

"Okay, let's find a bathroom." He grabs her arm and pulls her in the right direction already, while asking her where to go. Jessica pretends to navigate them there and just like before with him and Trish, the camera doesn't follow them. Quickly, Matt puts his finger to his lips and he takes some medical strips out of his pocket. Jessica sees him indicate that she should show him her foot. But she just holds out her hands and he shakes his stubborn head.

Jessica groans and sits on the sink holding out her foot to him. "It's really not a big deal." Matt then skillfully treats her little cut and she can't help reacting at him touching her. He is doing this on purpose, isn't he? To test her? But then he does something even more odd. He picks up a paper towel and at first she thinks that he's going to swipe the blood off. Instead he keeps it in his hand dips his finger in the little pool of blood and starts writing something next to her. While his handwriting sucks, the third letter is definitely an "i", the two before that could be "p" and "o"...

Oh. Okay, now she gets it. Poison. Her reaction probably clues him in on her understanding and Matt immediately washes the word away. And for once she doesn't mind his weird senses, because they could just have saved her life. Fuck.

Matt then does swipe the blood off her foot carefully and then he lets go of her. They just stand there for a moment, her still processing what just happened. Annie isn't even here, so someone else must have tried to poison them. It could have been anyone at this party. "Jessica, I..." He's looking conflicted as hell and she holds up her microphone, pointing at it to suggest they put them off. She isn't sure why he didn't do this already. Maybe he's somehow reluctant to talk to her honestly?

Nodding slowly he follows her idea. "I'm not sure how to say this." He shrugs.

"Try me." There are too many things on her mind to also figure out what's going on in that head of his. Finding out that her drink was poisoned is a nightmare becoming reaĺ for an alcoholic like her. How is she going to distract herself from her shitty existence, when she's reminded of this every time she tries to drown her problems in booze? So, Murdock is going to have to give her a little more. A hint at what else is bothering him.

And he does. Taking a deep breath Matt then makes one careful step towards her, his fingertips brushing along her arm. Jessica's mind catches up quickly and she licks her lips, when the door opens and they jump apart. Which is weird because they were making out in front of a camera only minutes ago.

A short guy looks between them confused and quickly changes his mind about having to pee. He suddenly grins at Matt. "Any chance the big blonde one is leaving your show tonight?"

Matt shrugs. "Yeah... whatever."

"Cool. Thanks, buddy." And he's gone and they even hear him whistle outside. Ugh... not even Jane deserves a whistler.

Before anyone else can disturb this, Jessica shoves Matt against the door, leaning against it to keep it closed and she looks at him directly. At his unfocused, but knowing eyes and the nervous way he swallows before opening his mouth. "I'm... I'm sorry..."

Sorry about what exactly? About smashing her drink on her foot and saving her life with that? About the way his heart seems to be beating when she lays one hand on his chest? Or is he concerned about the fact that he's dating a couple of other women simultaneously? "Jess, I didn't expect any of this. I don't know what I'm supposed to do..." Oh, that she can relate to.

"You're thinking too much, Murdock." And then her lips are on his again, for the first time without anyone watching and the only thing that matters right now is that it feels good. But a small, more sensible part of her then comes to life, nagging her with thoughts like: This is a bad idea. He's seriously involved with another woman, or maybe more than one. You can't let him get too close. And most importantly: Someone out there just tried to poison one or both of you...!

Slowly she lets go of him again, panting a little and trying to focus on what's important. "Annie isn't here."

"No, she isn't." Stating the obvious.

"It could have been anyone at this party. Anyone working with her, trying to kill you."

"No, actually." And then his hand touches her cheek and he sighs. "It was just your drink, Jessica. I'm so sorry, but someone here tried to kill you."

Well, shit.

* * *

_NOTE: I hope you guys are still enjoying this. :) Quick question: I'm just planning the finale and I was wondering... Do you want me to keep it more light and fun, or should I throw some more suspense in there in the end and get a little more serious?_

_So, the google translated Spanish is supposed to be the guy explaining to his wife that Jessica has a good chance to win this and Matt corrects him, saying that Jessica won the competition about getting the biggest donation._


	13. Chapter 12: You Don't Have To Be Alone

MATT

"I think maybe you should leave the show." Oh, he knows this isn't gonna go over well and he's right, because Jessica quickly shoves his hand that was just cupping her face away with an irritated huff.

"You're not serious...?!"

"I'm just saying... You've become a target now and..." Listening to the entire building for any suspicious behaviour Matt tries to take a stand, tries to do the right thing.

She takes a step back from him then, crossing her arms angrily. "I don't remember you hiring me. You can't put me off the case. As long as Nina is here, I'm staying. And don't you dare throw me off the show, asshole."

No, he can't. Not against her will. He doesn't even really want to send her away. But... "I just don't want anything to happen to you because of me-"

"Who the hell says it's because of you?!" Jessica is keeping her voice down, but it's clear that she wants to yell at him. "I'm a PI. This isn't the first time somebody is trying to kill me. Usually they aren't as cowardly about it."

"Nina was on one of the lists for the producers. She's probably here because of this stupid fight between the Hand and the Chaste. It's my fucking fault that you got pulled into this mess... You might be strong, but you're not a trained fighter and I'm not sure you'd survive if someone would stick a sword into you." Making her furious makes him even more miserable than he already was. But he can't help it, although he's not gonna push her. So in a quiet, resigned voice he adds: "It was just a suggestion."

Her arms are uncrossing then, but he can tell that she's still mad. "Then forget about that."

"Fine. Jessica, I..." He's stammering now. Shit. Matt Murdock doesn't stammer, but something about her just makes him self-conscious, makes him fear her reaction. "I didn't mean to... It's just... I care about you..."

Before he can say anything else she interrupts him. "What about your ex? Elektra? You think she might have a reason to want me dead?"

This is the first time Jessica even asked about her and now she's taking out her phone as well. He's aware that this is where she writes down her clues. "She's nowhere here, but things with her are... complicated right now." He can hear her scoff and decides that he has to fill her in on what's happening, on the new information Elektra gave him. "She was also trained by Stick. She could be the Black Sky they are looking for, too." That's part of it. Matt leans his head back against the door.

"You mean..." Jessica thinks for a moment taking down a new note and probably checking her messages or what else she has written. If this is part of her case now even sending Nina home won't help. It would just rob her of someone who could treat her if she gets hurt in this mess. "Hang on... you were trained by the same guy? Why didn't you tell me that?!"

"She just told me about it. Said that he send her to me when we first met and I fell in love with her..." And Matt didn't have time to really think about this. About the fact that she left him just like that when it looked like he wouldn't follow his old mentor again and they couldn't be together. But she came back. She left Stick and now one of them is supposed to be this weapon the Hand is looking for. Does she maybe even believe in all this crap? At least he does know more about her now than he used to, Matt thinks miserably.

Anyway, there's no need for Jessica to suspect her. "Look, she wasn't lying to me. She left our mentor and she's on our side, fighting the Hand. I trust her. She wouldn't hurt you."

Rubbing her hand against her forehead the PI swears. "Fuck, I'm sorry you had to find out like this... that... that sucks."

A bitter laugh escapes him then, because wasn't that just the perfect reaction to all of this? "Yeah... it does."

"So, you're both in danger."

He wants to remind her that she was the one who almost got poisoned right now, but that doesn't seem prudent. Instead he decides to be honest with her. He owes her that much. "We are. But she's also very dangerous and in college she didn't bring out the best in me." What she did, though, makes a lot more sense knowing what he knows now. Would he have become like that if Stick hadn't abandoned him? Or did his mentor leave because he wasn't capable of becoming like her?

"Coming from a guilt driven Catholic like you that doesn't seem to mean much. What did she make you do, that was so bad? Drugs? Break some rules?"

Come on, she barely knows him. "Guilt driven Catholic?"

"You just told me you feel responsible for all of this. Although - I could point out that Elektra might have brought all these ninjas here. You risked drowning in a lake to protect your partner. And I think you even feel guilty about kissing different women on this fucking show when that is the whole point of this reality TV madness." How did she catch on the last part? Is he that transparent? "All of this tells me that you're desperate to be the hero here, so don't even try to deny it. So what dark side did your crazy ex unleash in you?"

Matt raises his eyebrows and clenches his jaw. How to put this without giving his identity away? "Elektra made me torture someone and wanted me to kill him. When I didn't, she left me. That was the last time I saw her." Going by her heartbeat Jessica did not expect anything like that.

"So, you're against torture now?" Right. He did suggest to "interrogate" the people who took him from his hotel room in Japan.

"Look, I..." Okay, point taken. "I don't do it to punish people, or at least not just because of that. Sometimes... it's the only way to get information." He's not an investigator like Jessica. Sure, with his senses he can figure a lot of stuff out, sometimes things noone else would even notice, but not being able to see and just read some things does slow him down a bit and if he's too slow to catch some criminals, people might die.

"Fine. I'm not here to judge you on how you do your shit..." And she means it, too. "You look like you're doing that pretty well yourself anyway."

While she puts her phone away again Matt takes a deep breath somehow very relieved that she appears to get it to some extent. Could she even get what he is trying to do as Daredevil? Or would she try to stop him?

The crew is looking for Jessica and him now. "We should probably go back." Although he hesitates stepping away from the door, because nobody left the crime scene so far and that can only mean one thing. "Whoever tried to kill you is still out there." Whoever it is might try it again.

"I'll be careful if you promise me to be, too", Jessica insists."If someone attacks you on camera you don't take it like a regular blind guy. You fight back. And I don't want you to shield me from anyone who tries to shoot me. Alright?" So she saw what happened on the beach. She noticed him doing that. Is this why she asked about Elektra? Or is there another reason, too?

"But-" Stepping closer again she puts one hand over his heart and leans forward to brush her lips against his one more time.

"Let's not make a big deal out of this, okay? You're just more breakable than me and I'd like to keep you alive." But she isn't unbreakable either.

"Okay..." And his heartbeat says that he's fucking lying. It kind of is a big deal to him, because he suddenly feels accepted in a way he never did before. It's clear that she has zero expectations from him which is a relief and at the same time oddly disappointing.

Jessica is a little more reserved after they leave the bathroom again, but he has no time to think about that. There's another killer on the loose after all. They start to mingle a little to catch him or her and Matt tries to focus on the liars in the room while giving Jess a nod before she starts to drink from her new glass.

Since Jane seems to be the most honest and straightforward person in the entire room he doesn't think she could be involved in a secret war, working for one of those ancient organisations. Bedisa's name however did show up on the producer's list, although that could just mean that she has influential or rich people supporting her. She does seem to know how to charm them at least, giving people the false impression that she likes them. It's pretty clear that for her all of this is a career move.

At the moment Bedisa is telling one couple about her favourite day on the show which she says was in Ireland, where she really enjoyed the knitting activity (she didn't). "I've heard about that tradition on a vacation there", a woman with a Spanish accent shares. "Did they tell you about the sweater curse as well?" Bedisa says that nothing like this was mentioned. "I think, they warn you to only knit your husband a jumper, not your boyfriend. Or he will break up with you before you finish it."

"Oooh... good thing I didn't knit a jumper then." The contestant laughs. Well, none of them did knit anything like that. There was no time for that anyway.

"That's good. And it's no good being superstitious." The woman then continues. "But I thought there was an underlying truth to that saying. It's a warning for people who move too fast in their relationships and end up ruining them, because the other person isn't there yet."

"You mean, I shouldn't tell him how I feel, unless I'm sure he feels the same way?" Bedisa even points in his direction. Oh, they feel the same way alright. Absolute indifference.

"¡Sí, exactamente!"

Then her husband chimes in: "And if two people are waiting for the other one to say something?"

Bedisa laughs out loud again. "Then, they're cursed, too. For being superstitious." She's good.

The evening continues without another incident and nobody seems to act suspicious either. No secret phone calls, no indication that someone is hurrying to run away from an attempted murder. Something must have slipped his attention. Even the guy who interrupted them in the bathroom seems to actually only have eyes for Jane, despite her telling him clearly that she isn't interested. Jessica saves her eventually, so she can enjoy her last evening on the show a little. And then some guests, or rather suspects, are starting to leave.

* * *

RACHEL

It's a little easier for Rachel to talk to Matt, because they are not supposed to record and air conversations with producers all that much, while they are a very common thing during their shoots. So when Rachel notices Matt's glum face and the way he tilts his head, surely listening for Annie or some other trouble, Rachel pulls him outside. "What's going on...?" He's just as tense as he was after the flight where he fought Annie, so Rachel knows things must have gotten even worse.

Closing his eyes he mumbles: "I don't have time for this."

"Matt, just tell me... Maybe I can help." Really, this would be easier for both of them if he'd just keep her in the loop.

"Someone tried to poison Jessica", Matt practically hisses at her and Rachel feels the shock run through her entire body. Her eyes are immediately searching for the strong PI. "She's fine. I smelled it, went to her and smashed the glass before she could drink from it. But it's all my fault. This stupid Black Sky thing is the reason we're all in danger here, even when she doesn't admit it."

Holy shit, this entire thing is just going to crash down on her, isn't it? "Matt, you... you didn't know. Well, I didn't know any of this would happen. And I'm sorry, I ever dragged you here. If anything, this is all my fault, not yours." She tries to put a comforting hand on his shoulder and he turns around to sit down on a bench with a deep frustrated sigh.

Rachel can tell that he's still very tense, so she slumps down next to him, determined to at least listen to anything he needs to talk about. "You're probably kicking yourself that you won't be able to use this for your show."

It almost sounds like a joke. Almost. "Well, I think, you could make a show about all the behind the scenes drama here and I'd be a villain in most of the episodes. But trust me, I'm not proud of it." She's again on the verge of crying, but that's not really new for her.

"You're not all bad." Rachel snorts at this and takes in the exhausted blood-drained look on his face, while he's leaning his head back against the wall and closing his eyes. "I never would have met Jessica, if it weren't for you. And I don't think I'd have seen Elektra ever again, or learned the truth about her."

"What truth...?" She doesn't really expect an answer. Or maybe he shouldn't give her one. But she can't help asking, expecting him to say that it's none of her damn business.

Rachel is surprised when he doesn't. Matt frowns for a moment and then just shrugs. "If anything happens to me you should probably know about this, too. Elektra was taught by the same guy as me. She could also be the one they are searching for."

How can he talk so casually about something happening to him?! Rachel can feel her chest tighten dangerously at the thought and he just sits there, probably listening to the entire building at this moment, to find out who else might be a killer.

They are silent for a moment, but like with all the other stars on her show, she's the only one he can really talk to openly and after everything they've been through, despite their differences she knows that he has started to trust her a little bit. "Maybe it won't hurt to share. I can tell that there's something else bothering you."

He sits up then and tilts his head in her direction. After a minute he finally decides that he can risk it and with a very quiet voice he starts to explain. "He... he told us relationships make us weak." Matt lowers his head. "And he was right. My friends and anyone I get close to... they're in danger because of who I am. This isn't even connected to... you know what. It wasn't even my choice. And I can't stop worrying about it."

So that is why he's trying to shut everyone out then. It explains so much about this guy. About the way he stayed away from Jessica after Japan, while at the same time Rachel could swear that she saw the regret in his eyes when he did it. She really wants to hug him, offer him the comfort he gave her after he saved her in Ireland, but she doesn't think that he'd appreciate it. Not from her. "He's not right. He's an asshole. Your mentor."

"No, he's an asshole, but he's not wrong. If I get closer to Jessica she'll be in danger and she probably has enough baggage on her own." He buries his face in his hands.

"Does this mean you want to get closer to her?" Okay, maybe her heart makes a little jump at this. She can't help it. She just loves being right about these things.

"Rachel, please..." Matt rolls his useless, pretty eyes at her, but she can also see a small smile on his lips. "Don't make a big deal out of this."

"Oh, but it is. Especially after what you just told me." She waits for him to say something, but he stays quiet, probably deciding that he told her way too much already. "What about Elektra?"

"Don't." He doesn't need to say anything when his eyes get glassy like that. So, Elektra is still in the run, but there are some issues with her.

"Matt, you don't have to say anything, but listen, alright?" The tired, strained expression on his face tells her that he'll endure her advice just to make her shut up about it. Good enough. "You're a wonderful guy with a very complicated life. You have a very loyal, protective best friend who'd do almost anything for you and on you're own you make very, very questionable choices." He tries to interrupt her then, but she's not having it. "Shut up, I blackmailed the Devil of Hell's Kitchen. Trust me. If anyone knows about questionable choices that's me."

He smirks at her then and encouraged by that sarcastic twinkle in his eye she continues. "You don't have to do it all alone. That's bullshit. But whoever you let in, would have to know who you are. That is the only issue here. Tell the people you really trust, let them decide if they think you're worth all the trouble and I think you'll be surprised to see how many of them will stay with you anyway."

"You really mean all that..."

"I do." She smiles at him. "But make fucking sure that your little confession isn't filmed."

Rachel remembers meeting Foggy Nelson after she forced Matt to come on the show and he insisted that she can't tell his friend what really happened. So, instead, they tried to make it sound like it was somehow Matt's idea to go on the show. Nelson however didn't believe it for a second. At some point he send her out of the room and made his vigilante friend confess what mess he put them in and when they let her back in, it was Nelson who took charge of everything.

"So, this is what's going to happen: You will make sure that he has silk sheets and everything he ever asks for, that he ends up nowhere near any dangerous criminal activities and you will protect his fucking secret or I swear I'll find a way to ruin you." Matt was sitting at the table next to him, clearly distressed and looking down like a little boy who just got lectured. She actually thought it was quite endearing, considering who he was and what he was capable of. Then his friend patted him on the shoulder with a sad smile, whispering something that made a lonely tear roll down his friend's cheek.

If she could have seen his eyes behind the red glasses that day she would not have been able to go through with any of this and how she now wishes she really hadn't. "It is not in my interest to expose Mr. Murdock. I'm quite aware that that could fall back on me. Plus: I plan to make it worth your time. We'll make sure to present your law firm in the best possible light, so you can expect more paying clients after this. Everyone will know Nelson & Murdock."

"Good. Good..." She doesn't know what she would have done if they had refused. She doesn't think she'd have used the video to destroy them, but desperate Rachel is an unpredictable person even for her sometimes. And now, if it gets any worse, they might end up in a murder investigation, which could lead to the police finding her evidence against Matt. Rachel doesn't want to risk that. Not because of Nelson's warning, but because the man beside her doesn't deserve to go down like that. So, in this quiet moment after he shared some personal things with her and made himself even more vulnerable to her schemes she deletes the video she's been holding over his head.

And as if the universe is rewarding her for doing the right thing this time at the end of the evening Trish Walker approaches her again asking her if she'd be interested in doing a show with her about everyday heroes. Their celebrity guest makes clear that it's her incentive to have the producer look out for Jessica, but it might finally be a way out for her. It might be the change she desperately needs and she didn't even have to hurt or blackmail anyone for it.

But first she has to make sure that everyone survives this particular clusterfuck of a season, secret identity intact and all. No worries about ratings or about anyone finding a special someone on reality TV. Although, wouldn't that just be the icing on the cake? Rachel smiles as she looks at Matt who's currently suffering quietly through another dance with Bedisa.

He sends Jane home this evening and then leads Jessica to their room for the night, with rose petals on the bed and candles burning all over the place. And in a tiny place of her heart that Rachel has nurtured all through the years, through all the manipulations and disappointments, she kind of hopes that these kids will figure it out.

* * *

JESSICA

The cliché romantic setting suddenly triggers a Kilgrave memory Jessica is not prepared for, with everything drenched in purple light. Luckily Matt doesn't try to kiss her then or she probably would have punched him so hard she'd have made him fly through the entire room. But as soon as the camera leaves she runs for the bathroom to throw up. Jessica hangs over the toilet for several minutes dreading that she will have to go out again and explain this and then she brushes her teeth wishing she could pretend this never happened.

When she returns to him however, it's all gone - all of it - and the light is also normal again. Jessica takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, waiting for him to ask. Matt nervously starts to speak after a minute. "I felt your reaction and I thought that maybe I should get rid of all that...?"

"Thanks..." She'd offer him a smile for this, but right now she doesn't have it in her. Would she get away with changing the topic? "So, you think maybe we should compare some notes on the guests tonight? I recognised someone I've seen around Annie before. He was only there for a short moment."

"Really? He must have been able to regulate his heartbeat then, because I didn't hear it. He could have also been around before then." Matt can hear heartbeats? Is that how he knows when people lie? Although, it is possible to cheat a lie detector.

Grateful for the distraction Jessica discusses all her suspects with Matt until her own heartbeat is back to normal again. He still doesn't ask what her run to the bathroom was about. At the moment they're comfortably sitting on the bed and talking.

They agree that Rachel and Jane probably didn't have anything to do with the poison, but Bedisa is definitely not off the hook and the entire crew was there as well. How far would Quinn go to save her show? Maybe they should ask Rachel about that again. But the weird ninja showing up is even more concerning. "He didn't look suspicious, didn't have a very memorable face. Around 30 years old I would guess. But I don't think he talked to anyone and he seemed to have left as soon as I spotted him."

Matt frowns and mulls this over for a moment. "Karen mentioned someone like that. Someone asking about me. He was supposed to have a deep voice, was smelling of onions."

"Karen? That's the reporter you're working with, right?" A pretty blonde one to be more precise.

"Right, she's... a friend."

Jessica raises her eyebrows at the way he says it. "You're not so sure about that."

With a sigh he runs his fingers through his hair. "She's... important to me."

"Relax, Murdock. I'm aware that you're popular with the ladies. It's not like I expect anything from you. Like I said. Not a big deal." Although she wouldn't mind actually using the bed for what they were set up here to do by the producers.

"I could sleep on the floor..." Of course he would offer that.

She fidgets a little closer to him while he seems to catch his breath in confusion making him look unfairly innocent. Jessica decides then to pull him into another quick kiss and he allows it easily. "Is that seriously what you want right now?" That creepy moment when they entered the room long forgotten Jessica decides she likes the way Matt melts into her. Maybe he finds it strange that she can be in the mood after what happened before, but it isn't uncommon for her. "We can just sleep next to each other, but to be honest I wouldn't mind forgetting about everything else that's happening just for tonight."

Matt looks a little nervous about her suggestion. "I was going to ask you if you wanted to... to maybe stay in touch after this..." Her eyes widen automatically. "Because I would like to."

Somehow this is something she didn't expect. "I don't care about this fucking contest, Murdock. Just because I like kissing you doesn't mean that I am suddenly in it to win you."

"I know you don't care about the contest!" Is he turning red? "But I care about you." Shit. This is Trish's fault, she's sure of it. "I'd like to get to know you better."

There's a pause, before Jessica has thought about her answer a little bit. "Matt, I don't think you really do. This isn't me. This dress, these ridiculous dates... None of it is me."

"You think I don't know that?" Yeah, okay, he probably knows quite a lot about her, just from knowing when she's pretending and when she isn't, from using his weird senses. But those are things he wasn't supposed to know, she thinks bitterly. "I'd like to meet the real Jessica, because I think... I think I'd like her. She's great to work with and interesting. And she doesn't seem to judge me..." She can see a little spark in his eyes, a feeling of hope she can't deal with right now, so she gets up from the bed, turning towards him in frustration.

"No, you don't. Trust me. And I'm not interested in any relationship, okay? I'm better on my own." He doesn't look like he's buying it. Shit. She's not lying, okay? Her heartbeat is. "You can go be a regular lawyer after all this, forget about your stupid mentor and his war nonsense that you didn't want anything to do with. You can go back to fighting the good fight as a lawyer. I'm no do-gooder, despite what you may think. I've got my own shit to take care of."

He opens his mouth again and a part of her fears that he's going to confess to being Daredevil right now, because despite the sightings in Hell's Kitchen that just seems to be who he is. Maybe she's wrong. And what if she's right? She's not sure how she would feel about that. But Matt closes his mouth again and then he stands up, too. Not too close, but close enough to make a point: that he's not backing off for good.

"I think I can deal with that. None of the things you just said make me not want to see you again. As friends or anything else." Matt offers her his best smile. It's a good smile. "Just think about it."

Fuck, it is really not easy to reject this guy. "Fine, I'll think about it."

Then Matt curses all of a sudden and Jessica is just getting offended, thinking he was just making a joke of her, when she sees Elektra climb through the window.

"I've got a different idea." Matt's ex then stands in front of them smiling excitedly while he shakes his head and crosses his arms turning to her in exasperation. "How about we all figure it out together? Tonight?"

Damn, that caught her off guard. And so does the fact that she might not be completely against the idea of that. Although, that's not her brain thinking that. Obviously. And from the way Matt's eyes widen, when he tilts his head in her direction, he knows this, too. Fuck...

* * *

_Random_Rambles informed me about the sweater curse and I just had to bring that up._

_So, a part of me wants to know what happens if they go through with Elektra's suggestion (don't worry, I wouldn't change the rating), but let me know if you don't think that's a good idea... :)_

_And if anyone wants to discuss season 3 of JJ with me, please comment. :) It's not really the story I personally wanted to see (I just had a different idea about Hellcat... *shamelessly points at her own series*), but it just may be more interesting this way._


	14. Chapter 13: Go to Hell & Take Me With U

ELEKTRA

She knows what she has with Matt is special. Difficult and messy, sure, but absolutely worth the effort. She also knows with Matt dating several women on TV and not really committing to anyone, chances were good that he'd end up in bed with one or more of the others. Elektra however thought that she didn't want him to do it behind her back, so she decided she would try to be a part of that instead. Plus: She liked Jessica, too. If he was friends with her or more after this, she would be able to tolerate that. It would be different, not having his full attention, but she isn't the jealous type. She thinks.

And this is so much better than dealing with this Franklin Nelson character who seemed to be very suspicious of her back in college. She doesn't get what Matt sees in him, why he's so damn determined to have this restricting double life, but she is willing to accept all of this. If that is what he needs.

What would Jessica put up with, though? She seemed to have caught on to the suggestive intention of Elektra's comment and Matt was probably the one most surprised about the fact that his new "love interest" was at least intrigued by the idea. But she was embarrassed about it, too. So, Elektra feared that Jessica would give him an ultimatum, telling him to choose between them before she would even consider dating him. And she kind of did that. She excused herself and went to the balcony to drink some bourbon from the mini bar, telling them to call her when they were done "discussing" where they stood with each other.

Matt however didn't want to keep anything secret from Jessica (except for Daredevil it seemed). He thought it would be good if she also understood what went wrong between them and since Elektra scared her off, she was supposed to bring her back, too. He still hadn't exactly forgiven his ex for manipulating him in college, so she probably did owe him that much. And that's why she tried to convince Jessica to come back into the bedroom.

"Take it from someone who ran as soon as she couldn't pretend with him anymore. If you do what I did you might regret never giving this a shot. And then you end up trying to fix his new relationship, just so he might forgive you." Or to make him happy at least.

Jessica rolled her eyes. "I never wanted to come between you two."

Suddenly Elektra kissed the other woman, to her evident surprise. "I don't mind." She had a feeling that maybe Jessica would give in to this idea. It took the pressure off, if she wasn't alone with him. It made it easier to pretend that it was all casual. She seemed like a woman who'd run if things got too intense too fast. "You watched us on the beach, didn't you? You attacked Annie on the cliff from where she tried to shoot at us."

"You two had a big audience that day. I was just one of many." That's true, of course. But between Annie, Bedisa and the Everlasting crew that aired the footage to their TV viewers later, Jessica was the one Elektra wanted to watch them. Mostly to see if she could scare her off and show that Matt was hers, but since he didn't want to be hers alone - at least not at the moment - she could adjust to this.

"There's no audience today. We can just have some fun. No strings attached. You'll see if you miss out on anything if you never want to see him again, and I'll get to reconnect with him."

"If you just want to reconnect with him, why are you talking to me then?"

"Because he's afraid it'll drive you away." Elektra cupped her cheek. "Look, if it gets uncomfortable for you we'll just stop. What's the harm?" And reluctantly Jessica followed Elektra back inside to a frowning Matt. He apparently didn't think this could work and he obviously listened.

And then they talked for a while. Mostly Matt and her and Jessica listened. He didn't say it directly, but Elektra still noticed that her vanishing on him left a deep wound that never really healed up. Eventually she offered one of her sai swords to him, so he could return the favour and get over it. Okay, things got a little out of hand. To Jessica's horror the moment turned into a short little sparring session that ended with Matt telling her he'd still need some time. Bummer.

Then it was Jessica's turn to share, but she instead started kissing Matt and taking his shirt off. He was strangely careful around the private eye, as if the woman wasn't a lot stronger than him, technically. Or maybe he expected her to punch him any time he made a wrong move. Although it was quite obvious that she enjoyed what they were doing. Apparently he wanted to make absolutely sure that he didn't do anything Jessica didn't agree with.

She however wasn't so considerate, because at some point she stopped and pushed him towards Elektra, saying that he doesn't need to choose now, since Jessica isn't even sure what she wants. "Don't hold back because of me." With those words she left for the balcony again.

Eventually she came back in and they all ended up lying in bed together. So that's how Elektra woke up to Matt draped around her with his head on her shoulder. He's now humming in his sleep while she's carefully stroking his hair and breathing him in. It's been too damn long since she was able to do that.

"Oh shit, this really happened." She wasn't aware of Jessica waking up, until the woman next to them started talking, or rather groaning.

"Sssssh... he's still asleep." Immediately the woman beside her stops all her movements.

"Sorry...", Jessica mumbles and stares at Elektra's fingers tracing a long scar on Matt's back.

"What really happened to him?"

"I think it was one of the Hand's ninjas." She's not sure if Jessica's already aware of their boy's crime fighting hobby. But those cuts aren't from a simple knife fight anyway. "This one must have nearly killed him." Pulling the blanket down a little she finds another scar on his side, dangerously close to vital organs.

"You're not gonna kill him, right?" She really has to ask?

"You mean, because one of us is supposed to be the Black Sky?" She looks at his peaceful face for a second and then kisses his temple softly. "I couldn't. Ever. And I don't think he has it in him either. Maybe you'll have to do it."

"You're serious." Jessica frowns. "That can't be the only way." Elektra likes her deep and husky voice.

"You've done it before, because it was necessary, I'm told. It just might be again. You haven't seen what I have seen. But I hope you're right. I hope he is right that all of this is just some fanatics being obsessed with a strange prophecy." She yawns and regrets it immediately because Matt is starting to stir between them. He's so cute when he's sleeping.

Jessica however is still contemplating the alternatives to murder in her head. "Well I hope so, too. I don't want to make habit out of killing people." It's a little late for Elektra to not make a habit of that, but she's trying to change that. Starting with her Matthew. Granted that one's easier than not killing Annie. Which she also managed to do so far. Look at her!

"I could get used to this, you know. Us three. You can get him when he's all moody over ethics or lawyering and when you're busy I get to have him to myself." Sounds like a perfect arrangement, doesn't it?

"Ugh... are you guys discussing joint custody or something?", Matt mumbles sleepily.

Elektra smirks and ruffles his hair. "You are a handful, to be honest."

"A little more than a hand," comments Jessica dryly and Elektra snorts with laughter. Oh, she likes her.

"But I think he's out of practice. When was the last time you've been with anyone, Murdock? You've been wasting some of your talents." Has he been lonely all this time? If she hadn't felt bad about ditching him before, she really does now. She could accept that a happily ever after isn't in the cards her her, but he deserves better. Is Nelson all he has?

"Now that's what I get for letting you back in my bed?" He sounds annoyed, but she's pretty sure he's truly starting to forgive her.

"Jessica was the one who let me in," Elektra points out. "And I think, she'll appreciate the complete Matthew Michael Murdock manual I gave her last night." Elektra then touches him in a way that always makes him sigh in pleasure, proving that she still knows her way around his body.

"Matthew Michael...?!" Jessica then groggily sits up and Matt reaches for her hand. She lets him take it, but also looks at their joined hands sceptically.

Elektra tries to interrupt their little moment, by pulling him back into a kiss, but he starts to tickle her to make her back off. "Not fair!", Elektra giggles, but she leaves them alone so he can whisper something into Jessica's ear rubbing her back.

Then he grabs his pants so quickly that they almost jump up in alarm. "Elektra, you should get dressed or stay under the blanket. Or hide. The camera team is on its way."

At least Jessica is still wearing the t-shirt she slept in and therefor looks clothed enough to be on TV.

As they hear someone knock on the door Elektra contemplates hiding for a moment, but where's the fun in that? So, instead, she just covers the important parts with the blanket and she sees Jessica roll her eyes at her.

"We're coming in now...!" Jessica knocks down her first glass of alcohol just before the door opens to a still bare-chested Matt putting his arms around her protectively and kissing her cheek, while she turns her face away from the intruders.

Elektra just stays on the bed watching them put on a show that isn't that much of a show anymore. It's almost like she isn't even there, until someone notices her and she waves cheekily towards the camera. "Hi everyone!"

The guy operating the camera of course turns back to Matt and Jessica shrugging it off. Well, if that's how they are gonna play it... It would probably get censored anyway, so Elektra gets up stark naked and just leaves the room with an amused "I'll leave you to it then" hearing Matt chuckle at her antics. Yeah, he's coming around alright.

She's pretty sure even Jessica appreciates her taking the attention away from both of them and whatever they did or didn't do last night.

* * *

KAREN

The morning the Everlasting-team finally arrives, Karen still has images from the last episode stuck in her head. It featured a very strange morning after scene with Matt, Jessica and Elektra who apparently crashed their "romantic night". It felt surprisingly casual, but also a bit fake. Maybe because of the way Jessica turned away from the camera or because of them laughing about Elektra's departure.

And by the way: He has no fucking right to look this good with his shirt off and his tousled bed-hair.

Then, of course, there were interviews with each of them, in which the producers tried to find out what happened between them and everyone kept it mysterious. "No, I don't feel threatened by Elektra," Jessica insisted looking tremendously bored. "She just came to talk to us and was too tired to go back to her room."

"What she did there? Get some sleep? That's usually what beds are for," Matt offered with that little smirk. Oh, she knew there was more to him than the idealism and Catholicism, but seeing it come out on TV was still a bit shocking - the typical sarcasm aside.

"Wouldn't you like to know...?", Elektra grins to someone asking why she wasn't wearing any clothes. "I just felt very hot suddenly."

She's not looking forward to meeting Matt's ex. Something about that woman just screams trouble and that's the kind of thing you don't tell a guy who's clearly under her spell, unless you want to push him towards her.

The crew comes in first to set up the cameras in the office and then it is time for Matt's appearance. He hugs both of them trying to act like everythig is normal, like the place is exactly the same as it was when he left and it hadn't gotten a complete makeover. She hopes it still feels like home to him. It is weird. Especially now that she's wondering how much he's aware of his surroundings despite being blind. Karen observes him while Foggy leads him around and Matt hesitantly touches the new chair and the much more expensive desk.

Then, of course they have to talk about the women on the show and their very own reality TV star practically confirms that Elektra and Jessica are two frontrunners right now. It is impossible to tell how serious he is about that. On the phone he seemed quite convinced that Jessica and him were pretending, but to be honest, he's not such a good actor and he's obviously uncomfortable talking about it. Karen is pretty sure that things have developed in an unexpected way since they last spoke.

She's losing him, isn't she?

Rachel later arranges for the Nelson & Murdock family to talk in private for a bit which Karen is very grateful for. Foggy immediately tells Matt about all the things they improved in the office, about Karen trying to make them shoot at Josie's and how the producer was thrown out of the bar. They don't mention all the lies and the scars, but she's sure they're on everyone's mind. At some point Matt wants to talk to Karen in private and with a nervous look between his tense friends Foggy leaves them alone. He's probably waiting outside, waiting for things to escalate, so he can jump to his buddy's defense.

After a minute of silence Matt opens his mouth. "You're still angry."

Karen smiles. Not pretending to be a dumbass anymore, are we? "What gave it away?" Yeah, making his best friend explain his behavoir and then asking her for help like nothing happened didn't exactly make things better.

"I'm sorry that I lied to you about what they did to me. But I didn't want you to worry and I didn't want Fisk to get away with anything." Maybe that was the truth now. Could it be?

"Is there anything else you might want to confess?" Taken aback Matt tilts his head like he always does. It's such a strange movement, like there's some weird way in which he can see, just not with his eyes. Why didn't she ever notice?

"You don't believe me?" Cute. He really thought she swallowed all that.

"Can you blame me?" Karen puts her hands on her hips. "Matt, I worry about you anyway. About those injuries. You really think keeping me in the dark makes it better?"

He clenches his jaw. "I know it does."

Fine. If he's not going to explain there's no point in talking to him, is there? "Right. I'll see you later at the restaurant. Don't get yourself killed."

* * *

FOGGY

His friends are idiots. Both of them. Matt, obviously wasn't able to clear things up with Karen. He probably didn't even talk to her before and expected her to just get over it while he was off enjoying dating paradise... But she also never once told him how she really felt which could have made this stupid devil make some better life choices. Foggy is convinced that for Karen's sake Matt would actually try to take care of himself. If she asked him with her big compassionate eyes, he'd melt. But now he's sitting there with those strange women who look like models, but barely know him (except maybe for Jessica and Elektra), while Karen is avoiding him and sitting at the other end of the table.

So quite early on Foggy decides to get very, very drunk, just to tolerate his friends' behaviour. Until Rachel is catching him on his way to the toilet. "What are you doing?!"

"What does it look like? I'm self-medicating to bear all the stupidity around me."

The producer steps in front of him to stop him. "Nelson, Kelly is laughing about all of your jokes and flirting with you and you don't even react! You know that Matt isn't interested in her, right?"

"Kelly who? That Instagram model? No way. Beautiful creatures like that never seem to even see me next to Matt. You're mistaken." Foggy looks back at the table to see one of the women wave at him excitedly. He turns back to Rachel. "No, that... that can't be right. She's waving at you."

"She's not." Rachel then listens to some other crew member telling her something and curses, before she looks back at him. "Also, what's up with Karen and Matt? Did they fight? He's particularly moody today..."

Foggy just shrugs. "What do I know? I told him she didn't buy the new story about the scars. To be honest, I'm just glad she isn't mad at me about it."

Suddenly Rachel yells at someone else: "For fuck's sake find Nina!" Immediately she turns back to Foggy with a desperate look. "Please, just talk to Kelly or Elektra, just give us something to air. I've got some other problems to take care of."

Bossy. Reminds him of Marci, which just weirds him out at the moment. Not that he's still thinking of Marci... He's about to complain about getting ordered around, when Rachel groans. "Just do it for Matt, okay?"

"Fine. I'll try." It's not like he would do Rachel a favour like that, but to be honest, he is a bit worried and he was already thinking that Matt is hiding something from him again. Maybe it was a good idea to contact that Melvin guy. What the hell is going on here? Why are they so frantically looking for that doctor woman?

As Foggy walks back to the table Kelly is indeed grinning at him with big shining eyes. When did that even happen? She's easy to talk to and it seems that she just needs someone to chat with now that Jane's gone. But they also don't have much in common. Sometimes he can just tell that she's laughing without really getting his reference.

So, eventually Foggy does turn to Elektra who's sitting next to a very tense looking Matt. "It's nice to meet you all in person," the lawyer starts, hoping his charm and wit won't let him down now. "Can't be easy sharing this fellow with so many others, right? Aren't you always afraid of being dumped in the next episode?" Like she dumped him, turning Foggy's best friend into a whiney, lovesick puppy for the longest time. Seriously, it was as if he lost a part of himself or something.

Matt seems to glare in his direction now, while Elektra shrugs and drinks some more wine. "I'm just happy to be here. People break up, sometimes they vanish from your life without an explanation and sometimes it's better not to know everything." Is it just him or does this sound like a warning? Jessica also looks between them with a raised eyebrow, probably reading between the lines, too.

"Fog, I think, we all know that this format is a little unorthodox to meet someone, but I've met a lot of nice people on this programme and I'm sure Kelly would agree..." Turning red Foggy has this huge urge to throw a samosa at his buddy, while even Kelly looks down at her plate in embarrassment. Karen just shakes her head at him or maybe both of them from the other end of the table. It's not like she's helping much here.

Okay, maybe it's really none of his business who Matt dates, but with Nina missing and his best friend acting all mysterious since he arrived in Hell's Kitchen, he just knows that something is majorly wrong here. Plus: There has been complete silence from him for a couple of episodes, right around the time when he had suspiciously less screen time.

It's time to confront Matt about all this. When he's reaching the men's toilet where he saw him go a minute ago he sees Rachel run out shaking her head furiously and telling Foggy that Matt's an idiot. Seems like they're agreeing on something.

"What was that about?"

His buddy is leaning against the sink massaging his temple. "Please, not now."

"Yes now. You're doing it again. You're keeping things from me, aren't you?!"

He sighs and splashes his face with water. "Fine. Nina might have been abducted by an evil ancient ninja organisation. Karen doesn't believe me about the scars and Rachel bugs me to tell her the truth. Elektra was sent to me by my mentor to seduce me in college and now she left him to be with me. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"That's insane." Matt scoffs. It would be funny if he wasn't serious about all this madness. "But who'd have thought I would ever agree with fucking Rachel Goldberg."

"That is what you take from this?!"

"Karen will find out soon anyway." Matt groans. And then Foggy has another revelation. "So, is Elektra a ninja, too?"

Matt nods. That kind of explains why he was so lost after losing her. She was probably the only one he ever shared his secret with. Who's a little like him, maybe. "She's helping me, just like Jessica is." It even makes him feel a little better about their relationship. If it means he isn't fighting alone in this at least.

"Dude, you really gotta tell Karen." This is never gonna end well if he isn't honest with her.

Matt sighs. "I'll think about it. Just... leave me alone for a bit."

"Alright." Foggy sighs. "It's in a bag under the table."

Suddenly, his friend frowns at him. "What?"

"The suit, dumbass. I got it from Melvin just in case. Last time you fought a fucking ninja you got cut to shreds and nearly died on me. You need protection. Just... if you're outside of Hell's Kitchen, don't let anyone see you or we're busted." Instead of saying anything Matt just hugs Foggy. He rarely does that. It's always Foggy who initiates the hugs. So, as nice as this is, he can't help thinking that this must be bad.

"You shouldn't have risked carrying it."

"You're welcome." Foggy pats his back and then leaves him to his thoughts.

* * *

MATT

Getting rid of Foggy wasn't easy. Matt doesn't want him to be any closer to this mess. Sure, bringing the suit was very thoughtful of him, but also dangerous and did he just really say that if he gets caught then "we're busted"?! When did Foggy become a part of this? And someone is already trying to kill Jessica. How can they seriously want him to tell Karen the truth after all this?

Suddenly he senses a heartbeat outside of the bathroom and mumbles that a guy just can't take a quiet piss on this show, when Annie opens the door knife drawn. He aims for the hand holding it, but she dodges easily. She seems to be very well trained. "I want to talk."

Seriously?! Annie made no indication that there is any room for negotiation in her mission. "What about?" They are circling each other now.

"Elektra and you." She points the knife at him.

Somehow talking doesn't seem to be her only goal, because she's still attacking him. Swinging that knife over his head and cutting off some bits of hair, he's sure. "What about us?"

"You're not fighting each other." Another swing that he blocks, kicking her back to the wall.

"Who told you we should be fighting?"

Is she frowning at him? "The Black Sky has to be killed." So, she does belong to the Chaste. Or that's what she wants him to think.

"Again: Says who?"

She seems to be thinking too much to attack which would make this a good opportunity for him to do so. But right now he'd prefer for her to use her head, instead of him hitting it. "You're not a believer?" Letting her arms fall to her sides she just stares at him. "This is not Romeo & Juliet. You won't get a happy ending..."

"Um... Romeo & Juliet die at the end of their story." Where did she grow up? In an orphanage with weird ninja mentors? Okay, maybe...

"Really? Why is it so popular, then?" Matt shrugs, not knowing anymore what to say, when suddenly she jumps at him again, holding a knife at his throat. Fuck, he didn't pay attention. But she doesn't cut him. Instead she holds his chin up and whispers: "What if the Black Sky lives and everyone else dies...?"

"There has to be another way." Matt then twists her arm and grabs the knife from her. "Do you no where Nina is?"

"The doctor? No. I had nothing to do with her disappearance." True. "You'd know when I lie. Stick taught you."

Matt still holds the knife up while she walks back out of the room and before she runs off she growls angrily: "He should have taught you better."

No. He kind of prefers his education to hers.

When he's leaving the bathroom, too, the crew is already packing up. The contestants are gone and so are his friends. He also has a message from Jessica on his phone. "Nina turned up again. She apparently went to eat somewhere else with that Jeremy ass, because she couldn't find the place."

Good. Looks like this is it for the day. He grabs the bag with his Daredevil suit before making his way to the roof. A few minutes later he finds himself on top of Karen's building. Maybe Foggy and Rachel are right and she deserves to know, even if admitting to another lie will probably piss her off again. But he thought involving Jessica already made her a target and Karen is a little more vulnerable than the superstrong PI.

But that's just Stick's logic and maybe he really didn't teach him so well, because it just doesn't feel right to Matt anymore. He hesitantly knocks on her window and senses how Karen's heartbeat speeds up at the sight of the Devil of Hell's Kitchen on her fire escape.

"Is something wrong? Am I in danger?" Is that what it's going to be like? Her immediately assuming that he'll bring trouble? He shakes his head still not sure if he should really be doing this. She's not angry with him now, but that will never be the same after he tells her. Then whenever she's mad at Matt Murdock she will also be mad at his other identity.

Karen waits for him to climb in and close the curtains, while he readies himself for getting shouted at. But- "You're here to tell me who you are...!"

How does she know that?! She hasn't seen the Devil in months. Why would she...-

He nods as her hands fly to the mask, ready to pull it off, but waiting there only for his permission. Her eagerness surprises him somehow. He gives her a soft nod and closes his eyes, expecting her to slap him or something like this. But she unmasks him and nothing like that happens. Isn't she angry, scared? Doesn't she feel betrayed? Again? Why isn't she saying anything?!

To his huge surprise she just hugs him and it slowly dawns on him what this means. "You knew... How? When?"


	15. Chapter 14: Unmasked

KAREN

"I guess, I have something to confess, too." Karen lets go of Matt and walks back to her couch. She could tell that he was nervous when revealing himself to her, that he expected her to be angry, but that's nothing against just how terrified she is now that she owes him the truth. "Please sit down."

"Alright...?"

Look at him. Daredevil. In her apartment. And behind the mask he is her friend after all... Still... Karen takes a deep breath. "I killed James Wesley." Somehow, she wishes he'd put the mask back on now, because the shock on his face hurts. Karen looks down and fumbles with her fingers. "See, he threatened me. He threatened you and Foggy, too... That's how I knew that they never touched you. Not as Matt Murdock. Or he would have told me about it then. He would have rubbed it in my face." And how ironic is it that she partly did the deed to protect him. The man who saved her life only shortly after they met.

Matt, of course, asks a lot of questions about when this was and what happened and apparently it was shortly after Foggy found out that the Devil was his best friend all this time, after their friendship broke and after they agreed to feed her this story about the car accident that Matt was never in a hospital for. The car accident that turned out to be a fight with a ninja that very nearly killed him, if he hadn't set the man on fire and if Foggy hadn't found him and called a nurse. Damn... Matt...

"So, it was self defense", Matt wants her to clarify, searching already for a way to justify her killing someone. Or maybe just to understand how she could have done something like this.

Wincing a little Karen reluctantly sets the record straight. "I don't think you can call it that. I took the weapon from him. I shot him seven times in fact. Made sure he's dead. To... to make sure he couldn't kill anyone I care about."

"He could have killed you, too. They already tried." Maybe.

"Does that make it okay, then? If your enemies found out about your identity, would you kill them before they get a chance to do it first?" That's it, isn't it? The moment of truth... The moment he will realise that she isn't as innocent as he assumed her to be. That despite all the lies and deception he is still too good for her.

"I..." Matt swallows. "It's a line I don't want to cross. But if someone else's life is a stake, I'm not so sure what I would do. It's not like I never considered it before. And you didn't have time to think. It sounds like you felt this was your one shot." He's probably just saying that to comfort her. Karen might only start to understand the darker parts of his personality, but she doesn't think he's a killer. Taking her hand he squeezes it reassuringly while a silent tear rolls down her cheek. "This explains why you didn't believe me about the scars, but... how did you find out about Daredevil?"

Grateful for the change of topic Karen wipes her tears. "I did some digging. Went to the orphanage you grew up in and some of the nuns were very helpful. Heard about a young, blind Matt Murdock getting into a lot of trouble. About this old blind man who got him 'under control'. He taught you, didn't he?"

"He did. And not just how to fight..." She can almost feel his walls going up then.

"I figured. You are blind though." Thinking back to that moment when she was changing clothes in front of him she can feel a blush creep up on her.

"I am. Promise." Matt releases the breath he held after she mentioned his mentor. "It's just... in the accident where I lost my sight, my other senses were enhanced."

Karen considers this for a moment. "So, you hear more?"

Now he looks a little sheepish. "I can hear the cries for help all over Hell's Kitchen..." That's already more than she expected him to be capable of. He licks his lips and continues. "I could tell that you were innocent when we met, because I... I can hear your heartbeat. You weren't lying, when you said you didn't kill that man."

Okay that's a bit- "And I can tell that this is freaking you out right now, but I can't switch it off Karen. I'm sorry." He smiles sadly, hoping she'll understand.

Nodding a little Karen pushes further: "What else...?"

"Touch, taste, smell... It's all amplified. I can still smell what you ate at that Indian restaurant. I know you used more make-up, because you were on TV and I could sense the way that dress floated around your legs when you walked or the heat rushing to your cheeks right now. I have a distorted picture of you in my head and I know that you look stunning." Matt blinks and smiles at her. "I just don't know what colour you're wearing."

"It's red," she breathes and his eyebrows shoot up. Halfway through that description Karen got very nervous. "So, you know exactly how pretty all the girls on that show are..."

He frowns at her then. "Karen, I..."

"Matt, it's fine, you don't have to explain..."

Shaking his head, Matt sighs deeply. "I didn't go on the show to help the firm. Not really..." And here it comes... "Rachel Goldberg, she... she took a video of me fighting as Matt Murdock. She threatened to expose me."

Karen blinks in surprise. She thought he might have gone there to see his ex-girlfriend again or something. "Really...?" After he explained how exactly he got himself into this mess Karen suddenly can't help laughing. The thought of Daredevil getting blackmailed to appear on a dating show is just too funny. And his little pout doesn't make it any less so.

"I'm glad you're having fun at my expense." He smirks at her. "In fact, I'm relieved. Foggy finding out almost ended our friendship."

That last statement then wipes the smile off her face. "I'm just really glad that you told me on your own. I was waiting for you to do so. Now tell me what I can do to help."

This makes him vehemently shake his head. "No, Karen. You've done enough. I'm grateful for all the research you did for me, but this is too dangerous. Please..."

Karen stares imaginary daggers at him and then rolls her eyes, because it apparently has no effect on him while she's now convinced that that has nothing to do with him being blind. "Fine..."

He gets up to leave, but turns around once more. "I'm serious. My... my mentor is involved in this. He's dangerous." And the way he says it makes her wonder what exactly his training looked like. Or rather it makes her concerned. "I want you to be extra careful, okay?"

Standing in front of him now she crosses her arms. "Alright. I get it." He has better help now, she assumes. He has a superhero at his side after all.

"Karen..."

"No, really, it's okay." She shoves him towards the window and puts the mask back on his face, lingering with her hands on both sides of his face for two seconds to take in the sight of Matt Murdock in his devil mask. He opens his mouth, but no sound comes out. "You be careful out there, promise?" Karen forces a smile, hoping that his senses will pick it up.

Obviously unsure what to say he just stands there for a moment, then suddenly she can feel a quick peck on her cheek and she curses herself for blushing again. "Thank you." It's barely more than a whisper and then he's gone, leaving her longing for him to come back.

They're just staying one more day in New York. What if this is her last chance to tell him how she feels? But he must know, right? If he can really sense so much about her, he has to know already and if he felt the same then he would have kissed her on the mouth.

Karen sighs and closes the curtains. Maybe her timing just sucks.

* * *

JESSICA

Being back home is a relief. No more beaches, no more trips through nature, no noisy bugs or foreign languages that make it difficult to order her drink. Jessica leaves the bar to go home at around 2am, when she catches a glimpse of someone jumping from one rooftop to another.

The Devil. Shit. That's her chance. Immediately she jumps up to follow him, but her buzz almost makes her crash against a wall. When she reaches the roof she can't see him anywhere. Searching the buildings in the direction she thinks she saw him go, there is still no trace of him, until she hears a fight close by.

Jessica hurries to take a look in that alley and bingo! There's the silly red costume. Devil Boy is currently fighting a gang of five wannabe gangsters and when one of them reaches for a gun he growls a warning at him: "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

That doesn't stop the guy however, so while 'Daredevil' still has his back to him fighting another criminal the weapon is pointed at him. Shit. She's gonna have to intervene, isn't she? Drunk or not. A bullet wound won't kill her, but if this costumed freak is who she thinks he is - and the fact that he knows what's happening behind his back-

Ohhh, okay. Now he already dealt with the gun, by throwing something at it and he even has a smug grin on his face. "Told you."

She should probably help him out, but this is like watching an action movie live. It doesn't look real. His moves are just too quick, too choreographed. But then one of them tackles him and that seems to disrupt his flow for a bit. The man is getting dangerously close to stabbing him, so Jessica decides to investigate from down there.

"There's another one!" , yells one of the Devil's enemies yat the others, as she hits the ground with a thud, surprisingly elegant for her state. Before the one who announced her presence can run away Jessica makes him fly against the wall and he falls unconscious, while the vigilante she was chasing nods at her in approval. Then they both start teaching the rest of the gang a lesson together until everyone is on the ground.

When they're done the Devil leans against the wall to catch his breath. Looks like this frankly impressive showcase of his talents at least exhausted him a little. Then he suddenly dodges a knife and gives the bastard who threw it another well placed kick into dreamland. He knows his shit, it seems.

"What did they do?", she asks, curious to hear his voice once more, but instead of talking he kneels in front of one of his victims and takes something out of a bag to throw it precisely in front of her feet. Drugs. Of course.

"Follow me", she commands then, expecting that the police will show up soon and for a moment she thinks he won't follow, but he does. She can hear him walk behind her into a quiet little corner where nobody would see them, or where nobody would look. Will she get him to talk, though? If her theory is wrong and this isn't Matt Murdock then this will probably be a very awkward first meeting with Hell's Kitchen's favourite crusader. When she's finally sure that they're hidden she waits for him and then quickly pushes him against the wall, maybe catching him off guard a little and holding both of his wrists securely on either side of his head. He doesn't struggle, though, just waits to find out what she's up to.

Or maybe he's just too tired, because he still seems to be a little breathless. "Who are you...?"

Tilting his head he smiles, almost as if he was saying: "You haven't figured it out yet?"

She knows that smug smile. She knows those lips, just not the little cut on the lower one. But she has to make sure, which is the only reason why she crashes hers against them. He almost yelps, just as surprised as he was on the flight when she kissed him the first time. But she doesn't pull away as quickly, telling herself she's investigating, comparing, when really she just likes the way his tongue feels, the way he moans when she presses even closer against him. The way his gloved hands find her hips when she releases them and the way he chuckles when they break apart. Of fucking course Matt is Daredevil. "I knew it."

So, that's how she find's out that the strange lawyer she's been fake-dating on TV the last couple of weeks is the Devil of Hell's Kitchen. She loves that amused grin spreading on his face and that thought makes her panic a little. "Yeah...", he finally says. "You don't mind, then? I hope?"

"Mind what?" He gestures at himself or maybe the costume. Ah, right. She was confident that would annoy her, him being one of those hero types, but on someone as sassy and weird as him it's somehow okay. It also looks like armour which is a relief to see on him, if she was honest. Not that she'd tell him that. "The ears make you look like an asshole."

"I wouldn't know." He shrugs. "And they're horns."

Ugh. She's falling for someone who insists on having fucking horns on his head.

Wait... what?

Is she really falling for this guy? Jessica stares at the stupid mask in front of her and the way he nervously waits for a more serious reaction. Before he can say anything else, she kisses him once more to make sure she's not overreacting. This time he welcomes it and enthusiastically kisses her back, until she can taste the blood from the cut and she pushes him back against the wall, hard enough to hurt him she's sure. "Jess...?"

"Shit." Jessica backs away from him. "Sorry."

"Jessica, it's alright. I'm not like Kilgrave. You're safe with me." Who said anything about Kilgrave?!

Oh. Trish. Of course. "My stupid sister told you about him..."

"She just mentioned him and I read up on the case, but even before... I heard you get those episodes. I heard you mutter street names to ground yourself and I always tried to make sure that you feel no pressure in any way." He takes a deep breath, because he can probably sense her getting anxious. "It's your choice, if you never want to see me again, but..."

Well, her choice is that this is too much. When she moves further back he tries to grab her arm and she pulls it away. "Please, don't run now. I know that you're not as indifferent about me as you pretend to be. Let me-"

"No! Nobody gets to tell me how I feel, asshole!", Jessica snaps. "You think you know what I need, but you don't get anything. This isn't about him, it's about you."

He quickly pulls back his arm. "Ouch." And she leaves him standing there, clearly confused, but not daring to follow her. Why do the people she cares about always have a stupid costume fetish and a fucking desire to save everyone...?!

This wasn't about Kilgrave. At first. This was about Matt fighting for what he feels is right, without caring about his own wellbeing. She's noticed it before, but him being Daredevil just made the extent of it that much harder to ignore. And apparently a stubborn part of her likes that about him. It's the same with Trish, Luke and Malcom. She tends to gather people around her who want to make a difference. Why? It's not like she can relate... (or is it?) It's just that... Heroes die. And she's already lost her family. She can't afford to lose more.

Of course, he's right. She cares about him, much more than she'd like to admit, but he's also right that it's her choice to fucking ignore that. Even if it hurts now. It'll hurt less later. Hopefully.

* * *

RACHEL

"This is the worst idea you ever had," Quinn whines. "A blind restaurant?! What are we supposed to show the viewers?" Quinn points at the black screen in front of them, while they hear the conversation of this date through the speakers. The guests of this particular place can't see anything and are guided to their seats by blind waiters. They also didn't allow the crew to film with night vision arguing that it would take away what they're trying to achieve. It's supposed to be about what you taste, not what you see. (Maybe the place just looks like crap with the light on.)

But Rachel likes a bit of a mystery. And where else could they hire blind waiters, which is pretty cool.

Okay, maybe this might be a bit confusing to actually watch, but her plan was to show some flashbacks of previous dates they are talking about and because she had to act fast, there would also be footage of Annie appearing outside the restaurant. "We'll make it work somehow."

Bedisa seems to be having fun at least. She enjoys experiencing the world a bit more like Matt - or at least like she thinks he "sees"it - and she's actually convinced that it's easier to focus on the taste this way. She's describing in great detail what ingredients she can make out and by Matt's surprised reaction she gets it wrong several times. "You taste raisins in this. Really? Okay..."

"Whatever it is it's delicious! I just wish I could see you." That's her one complaint.

"Same here," Matt agrees sounding either insulted or too dry to for a joke. It's not his best day. "The food is pretty good, though."

It's hard to concentrate on the date however, because Rachel had to stop Annie from sneaking in and starting a fight by putting her on camera. When the assassin leaves the producer just hopes she won't find another way in. But at least Matt would be aware of her. She won't find it any easier to kill him in the dark. If anything it'll be more difficult if she can't see. And nobody would see Matt defending himself either. This is actually why Rachel arranged this. Giving him for once an easy cover.

What she doesn't expect is Annie sneaking up on her suddenly and nearly giving her a heart attack. Did she make herself a target by messing with her mission or something? "What do you want with me?" She would already be dead if that woman wanted that.

"The camera guy is trying to convince Nina to leave. Is that your fault?" Annie narrows her eyes at her.

"Em... no!" Jeremy? Why would he... Oh, he wants to get rid of Jessica this way. Because if her case is done, she is, too. Rachel didn't think of that before.

"We need her. They'll attack in higher numbers soon." We need her? Who is we exactly? Annie then raises a quizzical eyebrow. "Elektra is in there. That doesn't bother you?"

"If it doesn't concern Matt, it doesn't concern me." She shrugs and Annie frowns at her before she vanishes around a corner again. What the hell is going on with that one? And she didn't even notice Elektra slipping inside the restaurant secretly, but that explains the weird noises Matt is making sometimes. What the hell are they doing in there? While he's on a date with another girl...?!

Elektra also makes sure that the camera catches her leaving, much to Quinn's delight, who then swears to Rachel that she'll never doubt her again. Matt also appears to have a hickey on his neck when he steps into the light again, although that could just as well have been from a fight, since he told her that he went out as Daredevil the night before when she asked him about his foul mood. It's subtle enough that she may not have noticed it earlier.

Matt will spend one more evening at his apartment with a contestant (or if he wants the entire night). But he seems to be in a hurry to get away, when she stops him. "What now?!" Woah... that was the Devil's voice. He looks stressed.

"I'm sorry! I just need to talk to Jeremy and I... I was hoping you could stay close...?" She doesn't want to be alone with him again. Not after what happened in Ireland. "He wants to convince Nina to go home."

"She didn't tell him anything, did she?"

"I don't know, but I think he wants Jessica gone, so-..." Holding up a hand he stops her.

"If Jessica wants to leave we can't stop her. And I'm glad if Nina is being reasonable and understands that it's too dangerous for her." Pressing his mouth in a thin line, Matt walks away. "I'm sorry. I just need to be alone for a bit. Please..." He doesn't even wait for what she has to tell him.

Jessica also doesn't pick up her phone.

Great. Looks like she's on her own then. But she has to find out what's going on. Jeremy is carrying the last equipment to the van when Rachel tells him she wants to talk. "I'm just going to set this stuff up at Murdock's place. He was a little pissed that we're filming there, but he gave me the key. You can come with me and we'll talk on the way."

Rachel hesitates for a moment, but maybe it's better to be in a car with him than in a hotel room and they've even been alone in an elevator and nothing happened. "Sure..."

"Look, I realise that I scared you in Ireland, but I didn't want to hurt you. I was just... angry."

She nods slowly. "Okay."

"Good." Jeremy smiles at her like he used to when they were together and then he finishes everything up, while she takes a seat in the van. After around five minutes of driving Rachel starts to test the waters a little. "Why do you want Nina to leave?"

Staring ahead stubbornly Jeremy says: "If she leaves, Jessica will go away, too. You didn't do shit about her being there."

She knew it. "But she's not here to investigate us anymore. I think she really likes Matt. You don't have to worry."

"You never worry." Going pretty fast around a corner Jeremy sighs in frustration "That's always been the problem."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She does not like where this is going and closes her fingers around the mace in her bag.

There's a scoff and a pause. "And the funny thing is, I think you still think none of the things that happen around you are your fault. You just look at someone with your teary eyes and tell your sob story and they try to help and if it backfires you're not to blame. You're never to blame. You got people killed."

Right, she's always been good at the self blame actually, but hearing it from him somehow really makes her think he can't be right about this. He'll probably say that it was her fault that he hit her. It's risky, but Rachel has to try, so she starts to secretly record the conversation. "I didn't kill anyone."

"Oh, you're too clever for that. You've always got others to do the dirty work for you. And now, you've even pulled that PI to your side, haven't you? Did you convince her that I'm the bad guy now?" Suddenly he looks at her accusingly.

She can tell that he's getting angrier again. Tread lightly, Goldberg. You know he's more dangerous than he looks. "I think I never thanked you for what you did, Jeremy. I'm truly grateful. You're the only reason I'm still working here." She tries for a smile, mentally throwing up at how convincing she sounds. "I didn't ask you to do it, but you were trying to help. You're a good guy."

There's a minute of silence and then he starts talking again. "I don't know what shit you're pulling with Nina that she didn't want to go even after Lucy left and nothing was keeping her on the show. But I made sure she won't believe every word coming out of your mouth anymore. I told her how your mind games drove a woman to commit suicide."

Nobody forced Nina to stay. Matt on the other hand... "I know that I messed up. But I didn't know someone tampered with Mary's medication." The dead contestant is still haunting her in her dreams and she will do so for years to come.

"Shut up! There's no excuse for your behaviour."

That says the right one. "I didn't cause a car accident." Just dare to argue this one from the high horse, asshole. When he doesn't say anything else and parks the van on the side of the road, a road that isn't Murdock's and that looks rather empty at the moment, she is starting to panic. But this is her chance, so she asks directly, ready to use the mace if she has to: "You tried to poison Jessica, didn't you?"

A crazy laugh escapes him, before he looks at her with a waring in his eyes. "Did you just try to record a confession? Sorry to disappoint."


	16. Chapter 15: A Number Of Choices

MATT

Hoping to be alone for a while Matt goes to Fogwell's gym where he finds Elektra already waiting for him in the ring. "I knew you'd come here." He shouldn't be surprised.

"Can we talk tomorrow, please?" Matt starts to work on his lifeless punching bag, already knowing that she won't leave. Elektra does what she wants, when she wants it. Most of the time he likes that about her. At the blind restaurant she wanted to make out with him, so she did. Right in front of his date, which was as exciting as it was irritating.

He just really hopes this isn't all a game to her. People's lives are at stake and she still seems to enjoy the experience. And right now she likes watching him train, so she does just that. Until she wants to talk. "You're annoyed with me."

Matt pauses for a second. "I don't want to do this now."

"Please, just... talk to me." Her voice sounds earnest for once, but communication has always been their biggest issue, hasn't it? Maybe it's time to rectify that if they want to move past all this. While they often understood each other without words, there are topics their connection doesn't cover.

He throws some more punches. "It just seems like all this is a joke to you."

Elektra huffs. "Look, I'm sorry, if I don't want to waste this time we have together with moping around. I grew up with people dying left and right around me. I know that it's troubling you, but this is who I am." And in a quieter voice she adds: "If you want me to leave I will."

She's telling the truth. And he has to admit that he does understand where she's coming from, better than anyone. It could have been him, too. If Stick hadn't left him, would he believe all this crap his mentor taught him? Would he also be so casual about all the potential death & destruction? He still has the man's voice in his ear sometimes. It's no wonder Annie has no qualms about killing for the cause.

In fact Elektra turning her back on Stick is extraordinary, isn't it? Matt holds his punching bag for a moment and he offers her a genuine smile. "I'm glad that you're here and that you told me the truth." It probably really needs to be said out loud. If only he could find the right words. "What's between us is powerful and real. It's just..."

"It's Jessica, isn't it?"

Matt laughs bitterly. "Jessica has nothing to do with this." He starts punching the bag again, a little harder. "She did not like finding out about Daredevil anyway..." That disappointment is still lingering in a pit of his stomach. That she chose to walk away because of this when he really felt she of all people would get it. That she would get him. He read how she even tried to deal with Kilgrave the legal way, until there was just one last resort left and Matt thinks that he would need to seek advice from someone like her in the future. As a friend, if possible.

If she forgives him for assuming she has feelings for him.

But at least Karen got it, didn't she? And he had expected her to slap him and run. Especially after Foggy's reaction. Instead he might have had a chance with her if he hadn't kept her at a safe distance and if he hadn't landed himself in this dating mess.

So it turns out people are still a mystery to him, even when he can hear their heartbeats.

Eventually Elektra's voice cuts through his thoughts. "Daredevil was in the papers today. I guess your little lawyer friend gave you that Halloween costume at the restaurant..." When he doesn't react she adds: "He doesn't like me much."

That is an understatement, but it really shouldn't matter. To neither of them. "He's not required to like you," mumbles Matt. Foggy has seen what Elektra did to him last time. He's just concerned. But things have changed and he thinks she needs him now.

Leaning against the robes she observes him for a bit longer. "Does this mean he's fine with who you are? What you do?" It probably goes against everything that she was taught. Personal relationships not holding him back. Although it really came as a shock that Foggy thought of this and collected his armour from Melvin. Not only did he notice that something was wrong, he even contacted a man he never spoke to.

After a series of particularly fast punches and kicks Matt clarifies what he takes from his friend's support. "It means that Foggy wants me safe and I'm never taking that for granted again considering the danger I constantly put him in." Matt doesn't deserve Foggy. He never will. He probably doesn't deserve Karen or Jessica either...

Elektra stays silent for a minute while he continues his routine. "If that really bothers you, you could stop putting him in danger. Just..." She throws her hair back and smiles. "Come with me. We could go anywhere to fight crime. Anywhere neither the Chaste nor the Hand will find us. And everyone will be safe."

His punch then loses it's power right before he hits the bag. "I can't do that to them," he mutters.

She's now standing close enough to hear it. "You are aware that they'd be safer without us close by."

"Elektra..." The name sounds like a warning on his lips, because as tempting as this is, he knows his friends would not let him do that. They'd hate him.

"Then let me kill Annie."

"What?! No!" He turns around to stand in front of her trying to make this perfectly clear. "I won't let you do that."

"Matt..." Elektra shakes her head and sighs. "She tried to blow up a plane full of innocents to kill us."

"She has not tried that again. I don't think she's too far gone... She was brainwashed." Just like you, he thinks but doesn't say. "We can still save her..."

"We...?" There's something about the way she says it that warms his heart. Like she still can't quite accept that he believes she can save anyone.

Matt shrugs. "We both left the Chaste. We'll show her a better way..."

"Matthew..." She puts her arms around his neck, playing with his hair a little and making him shiver, while she's still able to watch his face. "Please... you can't save everyone. One day that'll kill you. I just don't want to lose you." She kisses him then to underline the sentiment. It's surprisingly soft and gentle for her.

Still, he can't help thinking that even Annie deserves a chance. "And I'll lose myself if I don't even try."

Elektra lets that sink in for a moment. "I really hope you're right." The doubt is obvious in her tone and he can't blame her, because her upbringing and her experiences made her this way. It's not her fault. He knows that in his worst moments he can think the same way, too. He did consider killing Fisk after all. Although that only made him more certain that this is a line he doesn't want to cross.

Matt kisses her temple and then moves out of her embrace to hit the bag again, fully aware that Elektra was trying to recreate their memories from college, from that night they spend at Fogwell's. When he showed her his dad's gym and she showed him that she's aware of what he can do. But it seems there's just something keeping them apart this time and while he still feels a strong pull towards her, it gets harder and harder to ignore.

Elektra leaves the gym without another word and Matt realises that if he lets her go, there's nobody else who will pull her back from that edge. Does that make her his responsibility? Is it fair to put her needs in front of everyone else's?

Back at his apartment Jeremy is already done setting up the cameras and Nina greets Matt for their evening at his door, before the queen of Everlasting herself makes an appearance. "Where the fuck were you?!" Quinn grabs his hand to put it on her arm and lead him inside. "Never mind. At least you're here now. So, let us finally start to shoot a break-up."

Nina raises an eyebrow at this, suggesting that she's not aware that this is what they will be doing. "Where's Rachel...?"

"Busy somewhere else," mutters Quinn. "She has a lot to make up for when we're done this season." Matt wants to remind her that she seemed to be pretty happy with her best producer despite her reservations every time, but he was not supposed to hear any of their discussions, so he keeps his thoughts to himself.

Without Rachel there to shield him, he finds it hard to get a moment to himself, but he somehow manages to send Jessica a voice message asking her to look for the woman who forced him on this stupid reality TV hell. Her working on something else after she wanted to speak to Jeremy is just a bit strange.

Eventually Matt sits at the table across from Nina who's making friendly conversation with him. Their meal smells exqisit and the candles are supposed to give this a romantic mood, but it's hard to pretend at the moment. In his head he keeps thinking that Rachel told him the woman who stitched him up a few days ago wanted to leave and now she's chatting with him like everything's fine while the guy who wanted to make her go is filming them.

And that's just one of the many things he's nervous about. In the silences when they aren't talking, his mind keeps going back to Elektra asking him to run away with her or suggesting to kill Annie instead. If it weren't for his friends he'd probably be tempted to run and avoid a confrontation. But not after Foggy gave him the suit. Not after Karen found out the truth and apparently did not hate him for it.

Or he replays Jessica's reaction to him screwing everything up with her. It was a desperate attempt to make her stay, telling her that he knows how she feels, ignoring her words and instead trusting his senses that he's right to push her. He should have known that this would drive her away. That questioning her decisions is a sensitive topic for her.

Before he heard Annie say that Nina would be needed at the end of this, he was looking forward to sending her home, knowing her to be safe. But a part of him is aware that things are going to get bad and he'd feel better with a medical expert available to them - someone that he trusts, especially if he has to deal with Quinn now.

Still, he would never ask Nina to stay. Not after he heard her laugh about some of his best Foggy Nelson anecdotes or sense her smile when he tells her about Karen. Not after she listened to him talk about his dad when she asked him why he became a lawyer. "I used to stitch him up after a fight when I was still able to see, but he wanted me to take a different path. He didn't want me to become a boxer like him."

"He sounds like a good dad. I'm sure he'd be proud of you seeing you now." Not so sure about that Matt winces a little at the thought. He is after all fighting even more than his old man did, unable to resist the devil inside. It's not like he can explain that, though.

"I think he'd be proud of the fact that I never back down from a... confrontation, even if the odds are not in my favour. That I try to stand up for what's right." The thing is though: it still leaves a bad taste in his mouth, the way that his father died while trying to make his son proud. Leaving Matt behind to grow up with Stick's teachings instead of his dad's. "I just hope that pride won't get anyone killed one day and fail everyone I care about."

Nina covers his hand with hers then, trying to offer some comfort and they quickly change the topic. It takes some time until Quinn thinks she has enough footage for the next episode, without anyone getting dumped. After they say goodbye to the camera team however he hears Nina sigh in that way people do before they say: "We have to talk."

* * *

NINA

She asks him to sit down next to her. Doing as he's told Matt looks like he prepares himself for her abandoning him in this crisis. It's regrettable, but Jeremy's tales didn't leave her much of a choice. "I have to leave tomorrow."

He nods saying that he knows and she should.

"You're going to be fine, right?" It's strange how much she cares about him after the short time they've known each other.

He smiles at her. "I've survived worse than a dating show." When he says things like that it only makes her worry more, however it's not her place to call him out on it. "But I sincerely thank you for everything you did. I owe you."

"Na..." Nina makes a gesture that people do when they think something isn't worth mentioning. "I had a lot of fun despite the crazy crew. Rachel is clearly insane, but she did give me a chance to say my bit. Now let me take one more look at your wounds. I also see that you're covering up some more bruises and I can give you something that'll make them heal faster."

He's just about to protest when she covers his mouth with her hand. "Shut up and take off your shirt, so I can get one more look at those abs." His blush makes her laugh out loud. "You owe me that much."

Obeying the doctor's orders he reluctantly exposes himself to her. "If you insist." When she waggles her eyebrows he smirks a little. "I thought you didn't fancy me."

Nina chuckles while she starts to examine him more closely. "You know, I think, I've just met too many guys who look almost as good as you with their shirt off and they've either been annoying narcissists or in a seriously high maintenance relationship with their gym. And I don't think you're like that... you're just very intense and I have enough drama in my everyday life. No offense."

"None taken." He smiles at her. "In fact, you're smart to stay away."

That makes her stop in her tracks. "Why do I have a feeling that you don't let a lot of people in...?"

She sees him roll his eyes. "Not you, too..."

"What...?"

When he tries to get up she pushes him back firmly, so she can keep working. "Everyone's been bugging me about this. To tell you the truth, I didn't even want to be on this show. I'm not searching for a wife or girlfriend. I can't. Look at me!" He gestures at his many scars. "It's too dangerous to be around me. I'm only on this show because Rachel forced me to."

"Seriously?!" Nina shakes her head. "That woman has some nerve... Playing with people's lives like that."

"No... she isn't that bad. I shouldn't believe everything Jeremy told you. I heard him threaten her in Ireland. Please, stay away from him..." Huh... Matt looks really sincere about this. Could it be that Rachel got under his skin, too?

But somehow even when she repeats all things Jeremy told her about his relationship with the producer and her habit of manipulating people, Matt still insists, despite being a pawn in her game himself, that her intentions seem to be good in a way, while the camera guy has been increasingly suspicious to him. He also nervously checks his messages again while they're on the subject, which he has been doing all evening.

Jeremy has been very sweet and kind towards Nina, though, which makes her sceptical. "What did he say to her?"

"She was really scared. That's all I needed to know. And she never lied to me. You shouldn't trust that guy."

"Alright." Finally she believes him, maybe because his version isn't as one-sided as Jeremy's was. Nina sighs and finishes treating a fresh cut on his arm. "Maybe, I should stay then."

His eyes widen at that and he suddenly grabs her arm as if he could see where it is. "No, please... I don't want you to get hurt because of me..."

She eyes him suspiciously and pushes his arm away. However, it's hard to be mad at someone who is that convincing in acting like he's only trying to protect her. "You sound like one of those stupid superheroes who think a girl can't make her own decisions and take her own risks." She rolls her eyes completely oblivious to the pure shock on his face.

Matt then quickly turns around to show her his bedroom. "You can sleep here, I'll take the couch."

There's probably no point arguing with him anyway, so she just says: "I'll take it for the free treatment, because I know you feel guilty about it. But if you're uncomfortable or you feel any pain, we'll switch. Promise?"

"Promise."

When they're both ready for bed, she wishes him a good night of sleep and sees him check his messages one last time while he closes the door.

The next day she wakes up to the smell of scrambled eggs and stumbles clumsily into the kitchen. Too tired to answer any of his questions she just gives him a quick good morning hug. "The whole group will be here soon, so I can say goodbye to everyone in Hell's Kitchen," he informs her.

"Good. And then we'll either deliver a great break-up scene or I'll confess my undying love to you, so you won't dare to dump me on TV and send me home."

He looks like a deer in the spotlight, which almost makes her crack up, while she enjoys taking a spoon of her delicious breakfast. "I could still dump you," he mumbles.

Nina dramatically puts her hand over her heart. "And I never felt like this with anyone before. We were laughing and sharing our feelings the entire night... And then he kissed me. Aaaaaaw..." Nina smiles wickedly, takes another spoon and then points at her plate. "This is really good, by the way."

"You wouldn't do that," Matt insists.

"I would, if I think you need me. And I know your type. I saw you send the other girls home and you suck at it. I think your usual break-up-strategy is getting caught with someone else. Only... noone cares about that here. I just have to beg a little and you'll take me to the finale." She shrugs. "Unless you have a better idea how to end this farce early, without anyone needing a doctor."


	17. Chapter 16: Your Suitor Has A Girlfriend

KAREN

Watching the newest episode on TV all Karen can think about is that the next day they are supposed to leave the city and it'll be her last chance to tell Matt that it could be her, too. She's been in the game longer (Although Elektra probably has older rights...) and she already knows who he is (Or maybe Jessica knows it, too.). Anyway, she is rather confident that he'd consider dating her if that is an option to him, if he is even able to do something like that with his lifestyle.

While he talks to Nina about Foggy and her he is beaming from ear to ear and even the woman on TV seems to have caught on to something there. Karen's heart is beating so fast she feels lucky that he can't hear it right now. (Or can he? From that far?)

But she has to calm herself down. He could also be talking about her as a friend, right? Hold your horses, Page. He might have finally confessed the truth to her, but coming clean doesn't mean he'll kiss her the next time they meet. Certainly not on TV. She has to have some more patience now and wait how things play out on the show.

Then they mention his father and it's so clear that he feels like a disappointment because of all the fights he ends up in. Between the lines Karen can also tell how much pressure he's putting on himself and how terrified he really is about his actions resulting in anyone else getting hurt. Her night after that is a little restless and the few short moments she drifts to sleep her dreams are haunted by a certain vigilante wearing all black and taking off the cloth that was covering his pretty, blind eyes.

When the doorbell rings in the morning she rushes to greet Foggy and she immediately hugs him. After he gives her an irritated pat on the back she carefully checks the floor for cameras before whispering: "He told me." She hasn't talked to Foggy since his criminal law partner showed up in front of her window to reveal his identity to her.

Her friend's eyes widen as he gets what she might be refering to. "Told you what?!"

She's probably being completely paranoid by now, but instead of saying it, Karen mimes having horns and starts giggling.

"No way!" Foggy hugs her again. "Thank god I finally have someone sane to talk to about this!"

"As soon as the TV crew leaves, you're going to have to tell me your version of events, because I'm sure it's different." She smirks knowingly.

"Of course it is." A bitter laugh escapes him. "Prepare yourself for less heroics and more focus on our friend being an idiot who breaks the law, hates painkillers and has a tendency to bleed on his own and our office furniture." That sounds even more troubling than she expected and Karen stops to curse for a second.

Once again she wishes she had found out first about Matt's bloody hobby instead of Foggy. She thinks it would have been much easier for her to deal with all that, since she was at least supporting Daredevil after he saved her once. And on top of everything Matt also lied to his best friend for a much longer time. "That sounds awful. I'm sorry that I couldn't help, Foggy."

But he waves his hand. "It's fine. Bygones and all. I'm his only family. I'll argue with him, but I just hope he knows what he's doing, you know?"

"We all do, I guess." They walk down the stairs in silence for a bit. "By the way: I had pretty much figured it out on my own before." She's gotta brag about that a little bit, but Foggy doesn't look impressed.

"Are you kidding?! Why didn't you tell me? It was so hard trying to keep all of his stupid secrets!"

Karen offers him her best apologetic smile. "I wasn't completely sure and I didn't want you to feel like you betrayed your buddy."

"You are officially my best friend now." They both laugh. "By the way: I told him you'd find out, smartass. Now, all you gotta do is ask him out."

"Foggy..." Karen rolls her eyes, but she can't help smiling.

Downstairs on the sidewalk Foggy points at a huge limo waiting for them. "That's our ride, Miss Page. I think we'll have to continue this conversation later."

"Agreed, Mr. Nelson." He practically jumps forward to open the door for her. "You're gonna miss this limo service, aren't you?"

Foggy shrugs and then grins at her. "Oh, yeah."

Everyone but Jessica is already gathered in Matt's apartment as they arrive. When Karen leaves Foggy and his new flame Kelly alone to say goodbye, Matt somehow pops up right in front of her to pull her into his bedroom. Jeremy also tries to sneak in after them, but Matt holds onto the doorknob, blocking the entrance. "Who's there...? We want to talk privately."

"I've got the camera..."

"Karen isn't a contestant. She gets to talk to me alone. If this is a problem, you can ask Rachel," says Matt in his most authoritative lawyer voice.

Jeremy immediately backs away holding up his hands. "Fine. I'll go."

Quickly the devilish attorney closes the door behind him. "Okay, we have five minutes."

He steps right in front of her and Karen feels a little light-headed all of a sudden. "For what...?"

"Well, Nina had this idea and you're probably..." Then he mutters something unintelligible that she doesn't understand. "You can say no. Okay? I'd absolutely get it if you don't want to do this..."

Karen laughs. Then she puts her hand on his arm to calm him down a bit. "Do what?"

He takes a deep breath and licks his lips. "Well, her plan was to make all the contestants think that I have a secret girlfriend, so that we can stop shooting this crap... And... Ah... it's stupid, isn't it?" He feels his watch to check the time. "In about four minutes she's going to open the door, so that they would catch us... kissing."

Her mouth hangs open for a second, until she starts processing that this isn't one of her more ridiculous fantasies. "You want me to pretend to be your girlfriend?!"

Matt curses, blissfully getting that his proposition isn't received in the way he wished it to be. "No... well, yeah... Shit, Karen, this isn't how I hoped our first kiss to be. Damn, I should just have done it after I told you about-"

To stop him from rambling, Karen puts her hand on his cheek and he halts immediately, mouth still slightly open. And he's never looked as cute as now in this adorably confused state, even on the show. She'd gladly kiss him right there, but... "What about Jessica and Elektra?"

When he closes his eyes she already knows that she's not going to like his answer. "I don't know..." He had told her that it was all fake over the phone. Apparently it wasn't.

Karen sighs. At least he's honest now. "Fine, I'll take it." And with that she crashes her lips against his, like she had to watch all these other women do the last couple of days and despite the stupid, stupid circumstances, it's just as wonderful as she imagined it to be. Using this opportunity to touch him everywhere she can think of, Karen even slips her hand under his shirt eliciting a funny noise from him.

He stops to giggle and inform her that they do have one more minute to which she just says: "Good." There were probably details to discuss, but she's aware that he can't make any promises to her at the moment and whatever happens next doesn't seem to matter when he's with her now. She is a little shocked that she's actually able to feel one of the nasty scars on his back, but it also serves as a reminder that this man is also Daredevil. That he fought for her, too, and that thought turns her on even more.

She barely registers the door opening and Nina annoucing: "I can't believe this. Your suitor has a girlfriend!" Then there's an excited noise from Foggy, as Matt slowly pulls away. Not ready to lose contact completely though, she lays a hand on his chest, right over his rapidly beating heart. When she looks up at his face however she sees his inner conflict reflected there with his face angled towards the audience.

And sure enough there they all are and it's funny how this would just be a regular thing if she was one of the contestants, but apparently her not being on the show made this a huge scandal. If looks could kill then Elektra's icy stare would have her in a grave already. Bedisa is dramatically making her exit, saying that Matt's an asshole for leading all of them on. Kelly can't believe that he would do something like this, but she was already thinking that she didn't have much longer anyway and after one half-hearted wave at Foggy she also leaves. And Jessica just stares at them, utterly unreadable, for once sporting jeans and a leather jacket that just fits her so much better. She must have come in after they went into his room, because Karen hadn't seen her there before.

It would have been smarter to leave it like that and see how it turns out. But this isn't the way Karen wanted it to be. Everyone else would hate him after this episode and even if that would end this reality TV madness, she suddenly feels like she can't allow that to happen. And she doubts that it would work anyway, as long as Elektra is still ready to shoot. All this would achieve is that he'd randomly get insulted by strangers and with his other identity being scrutinised by the public regularly she doesn't want Matt Murdock to become the most hated suitor in Everlasting history.

Also: If he wants to be with her, it should be fair and square and not because these women think he conned them all. So, Karen does what she has to do. "I'm sorry, this isn't Matt's fault."

"Karen..." The man beside her tries to stop her while she can see Nina mouth: "What are you doing?!"

"It's just... I've had feelings for him for a while and watching him with you all made me confront them. We really were just friends before he went on the show. Matt isn't without his flaws, but I don't think anyone can blame him for this." He looks like he can't decide if he should curse or kiss her, but his eyes seem a little glassy at least. Taking his hand in hers she whispers: "Try to figure it out. You know where you'll find me."

With the camera on her Karen leaves Matt's apartment while everyone watches her departure in stunned silence and suddenly she hears footsteps following her down the stairs. When she turns around she finds one of the producers, Madison, running after her to her huge disappointment. "How much money do you want to appear on the show for the final episode?"

Karen huffs and continues walking down. "That you'll have to do without me."

* * *

JESSICA

After Karen left everyone stares at Matt who just drops on his couch, still obviously processing what just happened and then a slow clap fills the entire room. Quinn. Of course. "That right there was Everlasting history." She points at her arm. "I think I have goosebumps. Matt, dear, would you pack your suitcase now, because we're going back to the mansion and there you'll have to make a decision."

It shouldn't have bothered her seeing Matt kiss Karen. She had decided not to go down that road with him. She didn't want to get involved with him, but somehow it's difficult to switch off that... little infatuation. Every time he sent her a worried message or tried to call she didn't have the guts to answer after running away from him like that. When he looks in her general direction his smile seems so relieved that she feels even more bad for her little disappearing act. There were just some important things to take care of.

But someone else needs to know about them first and he can hear it across the room anyway, so Jessica goes to talk to Quinn first. "Rachel is in the hospital. There was an accident."

The shock and concern on the face of this woman, who sometimes reminds her a little of Hogarth, surprises the PI. "Is she going to be fine? What happened?"

"She'll probably make it, but she's in a coma right now and... there's an investigation." Jessica sees Matt stand up and tilt his head to listen to their conversation. He suddenly looks very pale. Jeremy is still busy with packing his camera in the back and doesn't seem to notice their exchange.

"Oh my god, I have to go and see her!", Quinn mumbles. "I'll meet you later at the airport!" Grabbing her things she hurries for the door and shouts some more orders at one of her producers, while Jessica reluctantly approaches Matt who looks so miserable right now, a part of her wants to hug and comfort him. She pushes that idea away.

"This is my fault... I'm sure this has something to do with Jeremy." With his obvious anger Jessica wonders how she could ever have doubted that he's Daredevil. He looks like any moment he'll just grab his prime suspect and make him talk.

"Calm down. You can't give him anything he can use against you", Jessica reminds him softly. "I'll talk to him. You can tag along." And this is her fault, too. She didn't pick up when Rachel called, either, thinking it would just be about Matt again.

Devil Boy impatiently puts his hand on her arm then, expecting her to lead him as they follow Jeremy out of the apartment. On the way there's one more thing she has to tell him: "She deleted the video. I checked her phone to be sure."

"What?" Did he honestly not think of that? If there wasn't enough to worry about with Matt Murdock, it turns out he also sucks at keeping his stupid secret identity actually secret. How did he not think of this possibility when she mentioned the investigation into the incident?!

"The video of you, dumbass."

"Oh." Really? Just 'oh'?! What the fuck, Matt! "That was considerate of her."

"Hello? She blackmailed you with it," Jessica feels forced to remind him.

Matt shrugs. "I still should have been there when she talked to Jeremy."

Fine, yeah. Or one of them at least. Matt then indicates that the stupid camera guy is right around the corner and Jessica quickly grabs the man from behind and shoves him against the wall for a little interrogation. She stops herself from punching him in the very last second. "What did you do to Rachel Goldberg?"

"Ouch! I could sue you for this," Jeremy protests.

"For that little bruise? How about you tell the cops about the time you hit your ex-girlfriend, because I've got a witness for it."

"She used me to do her dirty work. That's all I'm saying."

Seeing Matt's frown Jessica asks him for his opinion. "I think he believes what he's telling us at least." That still does not seem to change the fact that the Devil beside her looks like he wants to rearrange the guy's face.

Well, he's not wrong. "I found an interesting recording on Rachel's phone." Good thing, Jessica wrote down the woman's pin before she used it to find her blackmail video the first time. With a smug grin she plays the conversation Rachel must have recorded right before the assumed accident. Matt is practically fuming while listening to it. Ignoring all the contestants and crew members walking past them to the first car to the airport.

"Listen, we were just arguing. I didn't actually intent to hurt her."

"Lie." Jessica holds Matt back before he can do anything rash.

"How could I have known that she'd just run out of the car onto the damn street?!", Jeremy argues, now also getting louder and louder.

Two superstrong arms pin him against the wall then. "I don't know, maybe because you sound like you were threatening her with violence, asshole?"

"Isn't that what you're doing to me right now?"

"Did you push her?", Matt cuts in.

The man shakes his head in panic. "No, I swear!"

"Alright, I believe you. Did you try to poison Jessica?"

"Em, no. Why should I?"

That's when the lawyer throws his fist against the wall next to their suspect, barely. Blind man's aim, huh? "You tell me, because I know you're lying and I'll make sure that you pay." And just then the police car arrives and Jessica greets the cops who already have Rachel's recording and now some questions for the man who's voice is on it. She talks to them for a bit, tells them what Jeremy told them and reminds them to ask him about that other car accident as well. Maybe Rachel can also shed some light on that. If she wakes up.

Matt is sitting on a bench a few feet from them to calm down, swiping the blood off his bleeding fist. After the officer is gone with Jeremy, Jessica slumps down next to him and offers him a drink that he declines. Probably better for a guy with his temper. "That was..."

"... too much?" He looks frustrated, leaning forward to hold his head in his hands, elbows on his knees.

"I think he's lucky he's still walking and doesn't have several broken bones. So, you think it really was his poison?"

Matt nods quietly.

"You know what this means, right? It had nothing to do with you. Him trying to poison me." That really should make it a little better for him. And the idiot tried to send her home when it happened thinking that it was his fault she got pulled into this Hand bullshit. Also saying hat he cared about her...

He really seems to care, if his anger right now is anything to go by. Yet, he's keeping his distance from her this time, which is reasonable after she snapped at him when he tried to keep her from running. While Matt goes up to his place again to get his luggage Jessica mulls over this mess. It feels good that he's trying to protect her in a way. Not like she can't take care of herself, but it's not just his hero act. All this time he has genuinely tried not to make her uncomfortable or step on her toes and when he did it, once, he immediately backed off.

Jessica knows that he was also mad about what happened to Rachel, but what made him hit the wall was the question about the poison. If she's honest with herself she also misses the closeness with him. The little touches, the comfort and those damn good kisses. But when he gets down to wait with her again, she keeps her hands and thoughts to herself.

They sit there for a few minutes like this in silence until he suddenly turns to Jessica with a carefully friendly smile. "I like your jacket."

Whatever that means from a blind man who can hear and smell really well. "Thanks."

In that moment she doubts that she'd be able to be friends with him. It seems obvious that he has given up on anything more, or maybe Karen telling him how she felt made the decision easy for him. Who'd choose Jessica with all her baggage over a nice blonde who tells all the world that he's not to blame? And Karen doesn't seem like the type who'd offer to share. The fact that she can't be happy for him probably means that she can't be his friend either.

At least she has her drink and all of this will be over soon.


	18. Chapter 17: A Black Screen

FOGGY

Of course, Foggy was delighted when his friends finally acknowledged what was going on between them. Later however, Karen told him what exactly led to that kiss, which made it a little less awesome and a very typically twisted-Matt-thing, but it was undeniable that the feeling behind it was real. So when Matt calls him before getting on the plane to the Everlasting mansion, Foggy congratulates the man on owning what he knew since they met the woman who was accused of murder and needed their help.

His friend however felt that this was the perfect moment to inform him that there's another woman who might need a lawyer at some point and Matt asks him to check on Rachel Goldberg who is apparently in a hospital after a car accident. "Do we now also have to represent her for blackmailing people or something? Did she force you to be her lawyer as well?"

"No, actually," Matt explains. "My last information is that she's in a coma and apparently she deleted the video as well." That comes as a bit of a surprise to Foggy who suddenly feels guilty for disliking the woman so stubbornly. "Look, I feel responsible for what happened to her, because she asked me to come along and she was trying to do something good. I have to do this for her and it would be nice if you could help."

Damn it. It's hard to say no to this guy. "Alright. I'll look into it. But you promise not to hurt Karen."

"Foggy...", Matt pleads with him.

"She told me you didn't commit to anything and she's fine with it, but we both know you're not thinking straight around Elektra and I just... If it's gonna be her or Jessica, don't be an asshole about it. Tell her before she sees it on TV."

"I can't Fog. The finale is live." Now that's convenient.

"You should know what you're gonna do before filming, right?"

"Um... you know, I also have other things to worry about..." Like life threatening things. Blind ninja shit. Things that are undeniably more urgent than matters of his private life which is a shame because this wounded duck might just have a chance here to be happy after all. If he has the guts to take it. "I don't know what I'll do. I don't even think it means anything whatever I do at the end of the show. Can you explain that to Karen, please..? Before I jump into a relationship that I'm not prepared for with anyone, I want to be sure about it..."

The idiot wants to keep his options open, Foggy thinks. He's blaming the stupid show and Matty getting to choose between all these women like every second day. His buddy has always been insanely popular with the ladies, until they got too close. And knowing Matt he's probably also gonna screw it up with all of them anyway. Or maybe that is what he's afraid of? Choosing wrong and then ending up as the one left behind after all? "Fine, just try not to take too long or you'll lose her as a friend, too."

"I've never intentionally hurt anyone. I'm just... bad at this." Epically, Foggy adds in his head. "It's not like I want to put anyone else in danger and that's what I'll do by dating them. You know that, right?"

"Come on, man. Don't pull that hero shit. That's no excuse to not make up your mind..."

"I know. But I've never... Stick warned me not to get close to anyone..." When Matt Murdock is stuttering, he's usually speaking truths that he's not really proud of. Foggy thought he left that thinking behind. Obviously not. "And every time one of you gets hurt... I... I can't help thinking that it's my fault. People keep telling me that I should let you decide, if you want to take the risk to... to be around me. So, that's what I'm trying here. It's just... I need to focus on all of them making it out of this alive."

That last part actually sounds reasonable considering who he's talking to. But Foggy's heart breaks a little, because he remembers how difficult it was to get to know this boy in college and how grateful he seemed for someone making an effort to do so. And after he became Daredevil, it was probably too late to cancel this friendship.

And yeah, he should have talked to him about it. Foggy somehow connected Matt keeping a distance from him with his friend feeling guilty when he got hurt, but he never heard him say it. Of course this is not what he meant when he told Matt not to hurt Karen, but it makes sense that physical pain is his priority. He just always feels responsible for it. He is in a way, there's no denying that. But to Foggy it was worse when their friendship broke. This is a topic for a serious discussion, just not one they should have over the phone. "Okay, okay, I get it..." To be fair, Foggy doesn't know what exactly he would do in Matt's shoes.

"So, no more matchmaking...?", his friend and law partner asks hopefully.

"No more. You just get back in one piece and then you'll talk to both of us." He'll lock him and Karen in a room if he has to.

"Promise." And that's the end of the call.

Sometimes not having super abilities and not being a chick magnet makes it actually easier to be the good guy. But it turns out even Foggy can be the bad guy. He was having a blast with Kelly, after he got over the fact that she really liked him. But when she asked if he could imagine marrying someone like her, it became quite clear that no, he didn't. So, she refused to give him her number, being very polite about it and Foggy felt like an ass. That kind of made him relate to his buddy in a surprising way. He also wrote a message to Marci soon after who replied by making fun of his new TV fame and asking if things didn't work out with that instagram model. Fair enough.

At the hospital Foggy meets Karen who apparently also received a recording that Rachel did before the accident which they listen to together. "She was trying to get a confession out of him and either he pushed her in front of the car after that or she just jumped out trying to save herself."

"And the fact that she was that afraid means that she knows he's capable of hurting her. Maybe she knows that he committed a crime or something." Maybe she tried to blackmail him with that knowledge, too, Foggy thinks bitterly.

"Jessica Jones's assistant also gave me the name of a witness, who saw Jeremy hurt Rachel in some way." Foggy looks at his friend, amazed that she seems to have shared notes with someone who's technically still a contestant on Matt's dating show. "And there was also an incident in Ireland where he threatened her. Apparently, he was afraid that Jessica would expose him and he wanted Rachel to get rid of her."

"And we believe he eventually resorted to using poison to make it happen himself."

Karen nods. "If he's the one who caused a car accident after last season's finale, that doesn't seem far-fetched."

They step into the elevator as silence falls over them.

But Foggy can't keep his mouth shut for too long. "You're working with Jones?"

Karen rolls her eyes, but she smiles when she turns to him. "Technically with Malcom Ducasse, but yeah... her research into the producers has been helpful. Don't make it weird. Until Matt's back, let's just pretend that nothing happened."

"Got it." He'll try his best. "I'm shipping you by the way..."

Karen snorts and blushes. "Foggy..."

They step out of the elevator to find Rachel's room and hear people arguing in that direction, as they get closer. An angry older woman with short and curly hair almost stumbles into them just before they arrive. Quinn, Rachel's boss, is sitting in a chair by the window all alone as they enter the room. Karen & Foggy both share a concerned look. Is she here, because she's worried about her employee or her show? What if she told Jeremy to cause that accident? "Miss Page, Mr. Nelson... What are you doing here?"

"My partner felt that Miss Goldberg might need a lawyer when she wakes up."

The woman groans and leans back in her chair. "I guess this means, she's Murdock's responsibility now and we're all fucked. Funny, I never thought one of these guys she has a crush on would actually step up and help her. And she's not even fucking him." Sighing tiredly Quinn grabs her bag, while Karen looks mighty pissed. "You saw that woman who left before you came? That's her mother. No matter what, don't trust her, don't let her alone with Rachel."

"Why should we trust you? You manipulate people for a living." And some schemes on the show allegedly even resulted in people dying.

"It's just an advice. Take it or leave it. She's ten times more cunning than us." That makes Foggy shudder, because as unbelievable as this sounds he somehows buys it. Maybe it's that look of regret in her eyes when Quinn looks at the patient in the hospital bed. "I failed Rachel, too... Let me know if she needs me. But first, I've got a finale to shoot and if it's the last one we'll do, I better make it count, don't I?" Hopefully whatever that producer plans is only embarrassing and not lethal. She winks at Foggy before she leaves while Karen already checks out Rachel's injuries.

Foggy never liked the producer, but seeing her like this only such a short time after she talked to him about Kelly and about Matt makes him feel sorry for her. She also pushed Matt to tell Karen the truth which he might even be a little grateful for. And if what Quinn says about her mother is true, that's not an excuse for the things she's done, but maybe she deserves a fresh start. He sure knows what a messed up childhood can do to a person and all the bruises on her arms and face remind him of his messed up friend.

The next evening Foggy meets up with Karen to watch the last episode and get drunk together. "If you need a gentleman to take you out afterwards, me and that eel are at your service."

Karen laughs. "Thanks Foggy, that is very sweet of you to offer."

And they start watching a long and dramatic recap of all the events on the show, from Matt's dive into the lake to Nina "catching" him and Karen which makes her already get her first drink. About ten minutes in their mostly innocent plans about dealing with this get crushed and they both gasp. "Did you see what I just saw?", Karen asks while they're staring at the screen, both aware that they won't do anything tonight until they heard from Matt.

"There!", Foggy yells. It's hard to see it in the dark, especially with the trees around the building moving in the wind and the camera panning, but there was someone on the roof, he's sure.

The camera follows the presenter through the big door inside the building and up the stairs into a comfy common room where Matt is sitting with the very last of his contestants: Annie, Jessica & Elektra. "He has to be able to hear if someone is there, right? Right?!"

Karen shakes her head. "You tell me! I thought he could hear everything a few blocks over. Can you try calling him or the producers?"

Foggy takes his phone while his friend tries to apologise to everyone about the situation with Karen. "I'm sorry that I wasn't completely honest with the viewers, with my friends, all the wonderful contestants on the show and even myself. I came here with an agenda, to talk about things that are important to me, because someone convinced me it was a good idea to do that while dating on TV." His laugh sounds very sarcastic. "I don't know what I was thinking, really. I thought there was no harm in getting to know all these contestants and I figured if I happen to meet someone special..."

Knowing most of this is total crap Foggy only half listens to what his friend is saying, watching the windows behind him for suspicious shadows, until he sees that Matt's irises become dilated and he stops midword.

"Fuck! Foggy! Do you see the arrow?!"

And right before the screen goes black, he sees it, too. The tip of an arrow sticking out of his best friend.

That horrifying image is quickly followed by a standard excuse of the channel that the programm can't be continued at the moment.

Holy shit.

* * *

MATT

It was a matter of seconds. He didn't hear the Hand's ninjas who apparently learned to not only be quiet as hell, but also control their own heartbeats. So, he only realised they were there when he heard the arrows targeting every one of them. Annie's neck was scratched, Jessica sat so restlessly at the side that her movements saved her from getting hit and Elektra immediately jumped up with her sais drawn to defend herself.

Matt wasn't aware of anything before he felt something hit his shoulder. And now he can't fight back without exposing himself, so he takes cover instead. Thinking about his options there he immediately also becomes aware of a strange substance in his bloodstream and he quickly pulls the object inside him out, fully aware that he must have been poisoned. Slowly, but steadily he tries to make his way to the attic where he has hidden the Daredevil suit. Sure, Foggy had told him that he should try not to get caught on camera with it, but he also said to him that staying alive is more important than keeping his secret identity. And right now he's not even sure that he'll make it, but he has to fight. There are still innocents in this building who need to be defended, whether he likes them or not.

If only Rachel were still here to switch the cameras or at least the lights off. Then he could take down any intruder on the way. Or could he? With every step he feels he needs more energy to keep going. Even shutting down one camera at the end of the floor takes more effort than he thought it should.

At least he made pretty sure that all the windows were as securely locked as possible which buys them some time. He barely even registers the footsteps coming up from behind, before someone grabs him and pulls him further up the stairs in the direction of the camera-free attic.

He doesn't lash out, when he picks up Elektra's scent and he leans on her so much that she basically carries him now. Luckily, Annie's fighting on their side against the Hand which means Jessica isn't alone down there, trying to keep those ninjas out. There are also two security guards who locked the entrance down there quickly when all the ninjas were suddenly on the cameras, and they joined her as well. But one of them already has a katana stuck inside him and the other one is just shooting frantically at the windows while his targets are probably wearing something bulletproof anyway.

Quinn and her team are watching the madness from the editing room. Matt heard before that they stopped airing as soon as the attack was noticed and they called the cops. But once the officers arrive they won't be much more than cannon fodder against this little army, because the number of ninjas is still increasing. Matt has counted around 30 so far. It's hard to tell with his senses all over the place now.

When Elektra drops him onto the floor and he's barely conscious anymore. His thoughts are losing focus and the room seems to be turning. She quickly tears his suit and shirt aside to get to the wound. "Thank god you pulled out that arrow. Don't worry, I know this. I've got you."

What kind of substance is that anyway? It really hurts like hell and Matt has to bite his teeth together to keep himself from crying out in pain. And that would not be a good idea, because it sounds like the Hand is currently looking for their Black Sky.

Elektra now has an open bottle in her hand and she's trying to get his attention by stroking his cheek. Is that baking powder in there...? "Matthew, please...! Listen to me. This is gonna hurt now, but it'll save your life, alright? You just can't scream or they'll find you here."

Matt nods to let her know he understood and he takes a deep breath before placing her hand firmly over his mouth. And she's not kidding, because the moment the stuff from the bottle spills on his wound, he wants to jump up and get away from her and this torture. However it's over quickly and his whole body goes limp. He can feel her blood on his lips, because he must have bitten her. "Sorry..."

Shoving the hair out of his face, Elektra kisses his temple gently and he treasures the contact for a moment, before he has to struggle to stay conscious. "Annie... she got cut by an arrow, too...You..."

"You want me to help the Chaste psycho...?! Risk my life for her?", Elektra asks bewildered, trying to keep her voice down.

She doesn't understand. "Jessica... she's alone down there..." If Annie dies, without any knowledge in martial arts Jessica is not gonna last long.

Elektra hesitates for a moment, then she curses and quickly covers his aching wound with something, before hurrying downstairs to help Jessica. He can feel a tear escape his eyes and unable to move much he lies down on his side, waiting for the clouds over his senses and that feeling of nausea to disappear.

Matt tries to listen to what's happening, but it's difficult. Apparently Annie's starting to feel some symptoms from that arrow and then Elektra appears, making all of these Hand soldiers way too excited for her not to be that Black Sky. Of course, she is. Otherwise they wouldn't have tried to kill him.

* * *

JESSICA

It felt like these ninjas were everywhere, but after Elektra and Matt left they stopped coming, which is worrying, because she can imagine that there are more of them and those crazy martial artists will find another way inside, even when this common room with the big inviting windows just seems to be the most logical place for burglars and an ancient crime organisations to break into the building.

Now there are still five of them keeping Annie, her and the last remaining guard busy (and he better be careful where he points that gun...). After another two of them are out and unconscious, or maybe dead, she sees that Annie is starting to slow down in a suspiciously sudden way. Reluctantly she goes to back the assassin up, because at the moment there seems to be a fragile alliance between them and she needs someone who knows Kung Fu on her side for a fight like this.

When she sees the big dark veins on Annie's neck however, Jessica remembers the arrows that started the whole attack and there's a bad feeling making itself comfortable in her mind. Annie was just scratched, while Matt had one of the nasty things stuck in his shoulder. And the idiot probably heard it coming, too, but decided to keep his cover and risk getting shot. Infuriating.

Unfocused for a second Jessica almost gets slashed in her side, but Annie kicks her attacker's sword away, giving her an opportunity to make the guy fly across the room. A moment later he gets back up again, which makes this two left standing now. At least it's three against two which seems more doable, until there's a yell next to her and she sees Annie falls to her knees. The dark veins are spreading further and Jessica's starting to think she's done, when Elektra storms back in.

Her opponents look just as confused as her while the Greek woman roughly pulls Annie's head to the side and pours some weird juice onto the wound, where the dark stuff seems to be spreading from. The Chaste fighter struggles and yells for a second and then slumps to the ground, to everyone's astonishment.

Jessica only gets to wonder for a second if Elektra just finished Annie off, like she wanted all this time, or if she saved her life. Because immediately after that a new group of ninjas starts to jump in through the windows and keeps them busy. With a menace like Elektra beside her however taking them down one by one gets a little easier and faster.

After what she has just seen happen to Annie Jessica feels she has to avoid their swords and arrows at all costs by defending herself with pieces of all the broken furniture in the room. She might not get as affected by the poison, but she's not eager to find out. Slamming those fanatics against the wall usually does the trick and they stay down. Elektra and her keep going like that for a couple of minutes, basically fighting back to back. They also should hear sirens coming any second now, right?

Instead there's silence again. Followed by a slow clap from the door to the next room that should be locked and barricaded. The body of the last security guard is lying on the ground next to it, unmoving.

"Nobu...", Elektra murmurs as she glares at the figure standing there in full combat getup.

"You know... They'll keep coming, Elektra." He's now slowly walking into the room and Jessica doesn't like that even the deadly woman next to her is backing away carefully. "You should just go with us and fulfil your destiny as the Black Sky..."

That answers the question about the identity of their stupid messiah and it also means that they don't need Matt alive. It's probably much more likely that he is dead already... The fact that Annie's lying motionless on the floor does not give Jessica much confidence that she'll ever talk to him again, make fun of him... or...

"I don't care about the Black Sky."

"Oh, but you care about him." Jessica can see the alarm on Elektra's face more clearly than she'd like.

"You thought, we didn't know that you were carrying him up to the attic?" The man laughs at her. "I get what you see in him. He's a worthy opponent, I'll give him that. We'll leave him and everyone in the building unharmed if you follow me to join the Hand."

"Fuck you," Jessica snarls. And for once she actually wishes she had Matt's senses, just to know if he's alright, if there are some of the Hand's minion standing over his defenseless body. Or if they took him somewhere...

"Stay out of it, you little punk." And with the wave of a hand four more ninjas run in, pointing their swords warningly at Jessica. She can also smell something in the air. Smoke. And sure enough, one glance at the window confirms her suspicion. They're burning the building down. "You're running out of time, Elektra."

"You'd never leave him alive anyway," she argues.

"To ensure your loyalty? Yes, I would." The guy Elektra called Nobu takes out a strange weapon, some sort of knife on a robe. "You must know that he's never gonna run away with you, right? But you can save his life, save everyone here. Be a good guy for one last time, if you want. But you're much better at being bad, don't kid yourself..."

Elektra stares at him and lowers her sais and Jessica can't believe what she's seeing. "What the fuck are you doing?! Matt wouldn't want this..."

And that's when a door on the other side bursts open and another little minion falls to the feet of his master, beaten bloody by none other than Daredevil who stumbles in in his full armour. "Nobody is joining a homicidal cult today." He confidently moves to Elektra's side and Jessica is flooded with relief, a feeling she immediately tries to push down when she sees him frown in her direction. He's alive. Good. No big deal. He's focused on Nobu again who's dangling his weapon from his hand and suddenly she sees the fear beneath the Devil's cockiness. "Didn't I kill you already?"

Wait... what? Are we dealing with zombie ninjas now?

"You can't kill me." The ninja master shrugs and raises his weapon. "I think you remember this. I'd be happy to finish the job I started last time we met." Shit. Please let this nutcase not be the one who gave Matt those big scars...

Elektra then steps in front of Daredevil, placing a firm hand over his chest. "I won't let him cut you to shreds again..."

So much for hoping. This isn't good.

"No! This is different. I've got armour, I'm not alone..."

Elektra glances at Jessica and the four ninjas standing guard in front of her. "Yeah, it's different. HE has an army with him." She shakes her head. Jessica thinks she could easily jump over her guards and their swords to get to Nobu, but who knows how many more there are? Well, Matt, probably. But he looks like he'd fight a 100 more if he has to and Jessica doesn't see this ending well.

"But, you can't-"

It happens so quickly that Jessica can barely follow. Matt blocks an arrow that was aimed at Elektra, while at the same time she dodges it and throws one of her sais straight into Annie's chest.

The woman is still holding the bow as she drops to the ground muttering: "You're just too weak to kill her."

Jessica couldn't disagree more. Matt Murdock isn't weak. He may be soft, but this is some tough shit and she can see in his eyes that it's tearing him apart. He already knows what Elektra is going to do and he can't fight it anymore. There are just too many lives at stake... and she just took one of them in front of him, arguably in self defense, but also with a coldbloodedness that is a bit chilling.

So, they just watch as the Hand walks away with Elektra and that's when she starts to hear the damn sirens. Matt starts to make his way to the editing room, leaning his hand against the wall every now and then, which shows that he's in worse shape than it seemed before. There was no way he could have fought Nobu.


	19. Chapter 18: I'll Bring Him Back To You

_NOTE: I'm not sure how much longer I should make this. I had more action planned, but I think maybe I should wrap this up earlier. It kind of got out of control... ;) Again... hehe..._

* * *

ELEKTRA

It's only a matter of seconds, but to her it feels like forever. What she would give to look into his eyes one last time. Although, she'd sure find his disappointment there as well. About killing Annie, about killing some members of Nobu's army that Matt would have tried to save from the flames as well. It's why she threw her sai at Annie, shortly after he made her save the Chaste assassin. To remind him that despite the things they have in common, there are others that make them fundamentally different. Things that remind her that he deserves better.

Fighting Nobu's army to the death by his side sure would have been fun, but she doesn't want him to die like that. For her. Maybe it has to be this way. Maybe Matt will be happy with his boring friends, his boring job and all the things that keep him from becoming any more like her. That keep that brilliant light inside him alive. The one that she tried to snuff out all those years ago.

Now he has a better life within reach as well. Elektra saw it in Jessica's eyes, even while she was pretending not to care. It would be easier for him to be with someone like her. If she allows it. They are both considered vigilantes and have no real family left, only someone who comes close to it. And they fight well together which is important, too. Elektra also saw glimses of Karen and the telling way Matt and her dance around each other. She doesn't really know what he sees in her, but there's something there, too. Something a little lighter. If he allows it and doesn't worry about pulling her into his Daredevil messes.

They're out of the building already, some of the ninjas she fought herself are gathering behind her now and that's an odd feeling. Not that she regrets her decision. She really didn't have much of a choice. But she has to make sure that he knows what she's up to, so hoping that he's still listening, Elektra whispers: "Don't worry. It'll be fun to take those bastards down from the inside. You just... try to be happy..."

The grip around her sai tightens as she remembers taking Annie's life. The one he asked her to save. She'll make sure that it's not going to be in vain. Her action not only made it easier for him to let her go, it also gave the Hand confidence in her as this "Black Sky" they want to see in her. What was it Nobu said? She's better at being bad? Elektra smirks at the thought. Oh, he's not going to like what's coming. Maybe it won't be good, maybe it'll be a little bad, but if she'll ever be anyone's weapon, she's going to be Matthew Michael Murdock's. And she's going to fucking enjoy it.

* * *

MATT

He's on auto pilot after Elektra's gone. Tears are stinging in his eyes as he hears her last quiet words directed at him. He is confident that the Hand won't be able to turn her into their tool. Elektra is just a bit too wild to be controlled. And if she's going to fight anyone without holding back, at least it's an organisation as evil and powerful as them. There is something eery about the way all the defeated soldiers get up and leave, just like that. No matter how injured they are, they just follow their leaders and drag themselves out. And after seeing Nobu again this way, he can't help thinking that Stick might be right about one thing: That these people aren't human anymore. He just hopes that Elektra won't lose her humanity, too.

"You just... try to be happy." What does that even mean? Matt is mulling it all over while setting one foot in front of the other. Saving people made him happy sometimes, when the line between good and bad didn't blur too much. He had a purpose, he made a difference and he thought he was doing the right thing. But right now all he feels is powerless. There was nothing he could do but watch, while Elektra walked away, probably saving the day, while he couldn't save her.

Most of the Everlasting team watched everything unfold from the editing room while the flames were taking control of the room next to them. He heard them gasp and Madison even cheered when Daredevil appeared. Who would have thought that he had a fan in the producer who according to Foggy and Karen decided that their Nelson & Murdock office wasn't good enough for their trashy TV show. All of this must also have been recorded somewhere. Eventually he'll need to explain what the Devil of Hell's Kitchen was suddenly doing in a different part of the country or people will make the connection to Matt Murdock. He knows that. It should be a convincing story though. One he'll have to think about later.

There are still three crew members in the big kitchen upstairs where the fire reached as well now, leaving no safe way to get down. When he told Jessica about them she first wanted to make sure that he's alright on his own, but he urged her to hurry which made her leave in a foul mood. There's surely going to be an argument about that later, because... okay, he's not exactly fine. It may feel a little bit like he's losing energy every second, but they are almost done anyway and then he can rest.

Right now Jessica is talking to two guys upstairs, trying to make them relax and convince them that she can get them to the ground unharmed. The fire department also reached finally, but they don't sense the best way to get to get everyone out, and the police might have scruples to arrest him so quickly after saving people from a fire.

When he knocks at the door to the editing room, telling everyone to get out, Quinn opens it just a tiny bit and gives him one reserved answer. "Rescue is on the way... I think we're better off in here..." Is she afraid of him? Maybe she does have a reason to be.

Matt can't blame her for not wanting to step out though, since the room she's currently in isn't burning yet like the rest. But it won't be long until it is. "You're not safe in there. The wall on the other side is going to come down soon. And every fire fighter who has to come in here to save you will risk his or her life, too. Please, let me get everyone out before that."

One of the others, Jay, is feeling the wall on the other end with a concerned frown, confirming what Matt just said with a nod. "Seems true. It's very hot here..."

"Okay, fine..." Quinn sighs and after a moment of consideration she concludes: "I guess we have to trust you, 'Daredevil'. Lead the way." His vigilante name sounds silly in her voice, like she can't believe she's saying this. Not a fan, then.

Matt doesn't know what to think when Rachel's boss stays in the room until the very end. Maybe it's because she doesn't trust him or she's like the captain of a ship that's sinking who wants to see everyone else leave first. Madison is sticking to his side while Jay and a couple of others go ahead following Matt's instructions.

"Be careful where you step." His senses are a bit overwhelmed at the moment, which makes it a little harder to focus on his surroundings. But he still notices just in time that a lamp is about to crash down on Quinn, so he manages to push her away from it, making her yelp in a panic.

She takes a moment to calm down again. "Thanks", he can hear her mumble in his direction and moving a little faster she quickly catches up with the others who are almost out of the building. Now everything that separates them from the outside world is the backdoor which is still locked however. Luckily Matt can already sense Jessica outside which makes him smile in relief, before she kicks the door in.

"Run!", he yells then, not taking any more chances. Two minutes later they're all standing outside far enough away from the fire meeting with the other rescued crew members and also hidden from the police officers that are starting to search the forest for black cladded ninjas. They go slowly, probably secretly hoping that they won't find any one of them alive. He can't blame them for being scared. Jessica doesn't utter a word. Maybe she's still pissed at the way he sent her away before, but there was no time to discuss it.

"There's everything I've worked for going up in flames." After staring at the fire for a while Quinn suddenly addresses him. "I guess, you did save our lives then," she admits, while they're observing the building coming down and she whimpers some more at the sight. Terrified that the producer will recognise his voice somehow Matt stays quiet, until she asks him a direct question. "What were you doing here anyway? Aren't you supposed to be in Hell's Kirchen? Not that I'm complaining..."

Matt swallows. "Um... I thought that lawyer was in trouble... let me just..." He runs towards the closest fireman then to buy some time for a good explanation and to inform the firefighters that there's no one alive in the building. Somehow the police still doesn't take notice of him. Maybe they are thinking it's a set and he's wearing a costume. But that's when people start to ask about his other identity...

"Where the fuck is our suitor anyway?" Quinn is starting to look around nervously.

Matt curses when he hears her and every one else looking for him, assuming that he must still be in the building. "The camera showed that he was running towards the attic", he hears someone say.

Jessica rolls her eyes and crosses her arms, stating that he's probably somewhere in the forest. The thing is though, that the clothes he was wearing before are still in the attic where he switched to being Daredevil... So, how is he supposed to explain that he changed them in all the chaos?

Matt tilts his head and concentrates on the best way to get up there again, when he suddenly hears Jessica yell: "No...! You are not going back...!" It might have been directed at him.

Her arms are uncrossed now and she's not even trying to hide the concern in her voice. His feet somehow feel like they're nailed to the ground, because he's unable to disobey her, while she marches angrily in his direction. That's probably what he deserves for ordering her around before. "Jessica... Trust me, please... I... I know what I'm doing. I'll... save him?" I'll save my secret identity is what he means. God, it never gets less weird to talk about himself as if he was another person.

He can tell that she wants to protest and mention all the times she had to save his ass. But they have an audience there. People who still don't know who he is. "'Matt' isn't in there. He... he's safe. I'm sure of it." Her sad eyes are pleading with him to understand and then she adds with a whisper: "I'm sorry about Elektra, but don't throw it all away..."

What does Elektra have to do with anything? Does Jessica think he's suicidal? Matt shakes his head and puts his hand on her shoulder to assure her that this isn't the case. With a little squeeze he promises meaningfully: "I'll bring him back to you." The words leave his mouth before he realises what they could mean. Matt can hear Jessica wince, not because of any pain, but either because she's annoyed with how stubborn he is or because she's frustrated and embarrassed that he can tell just how worried about him she really is. That she actually seems to be scared of losing him. If only she'd accept it to herself, so they can move forward... Maybe there's still a chance for that.

"Okay, fuck it." Jessica growls and then she swiftly hugs him close to her chest before jumping straight up to the roof of the mansion. Matt is disoriented for a second, before he automatically hugs her back, grateful for that little lift. Her strong heart is beating very fast close to his and Matt thinks his own one is matching hers, before they land smoothly and she breaks away. "Now do what you have to... I'll be waiting here."

Matt hesitates, but then just nods since he can't figure out what else to say to her right now. "Careful... there might still be ninjas around", is all he can think of.

"Seriously?!" Now she has her hands on her hips. Yeah, okay, maybe this was a bit more risky than he pretended before. He can't tell if anyone is there, as long as they are able to slow down their heartbeats. "What the fuck am I doing with you...?"

Resisting a suggestive reply that she - probably? - wouldn't like, Matt shrugs and climbs inside through the broken attic window. The bodies he left there are gone. Hopefully they followed Nobu and Elektra, but you never know...

* * *

JESSICA

He takes long. Too long. Okay, it's probably not easy to change out of that thing, but he could just as well have grabbed the stuff quickly and done it in the forest. What a fucking moron. She knew this was gonna happen. Right then when they were standing safely outside and someone asked about Matt Murdock, she knew he was gonna do something incredibly stupid and senseless. Even before he did that little head tilt.

Maybe Elektra going with the Hand made him snap a little. Give up. That's what Jessica feared. He appeared to be reckless on a regular day, so what if he was worse on a bad day? If he has nothing left to lose? What if this pushed him over the edge? Jessica doesn't think she can trust his judgement at the moment. How can he even fight if there's someone hiding to attack here? He can barely walk long enough without leaning against anything.

And then he said that strange sentence. "I'll bring him back to you." As if Matt Murdock belongs to her and she hates, hates, hates that it reassures her in things she didn't want to think about any longer. And now she can't think about anything else.

"I'll bring him back to you..." It's a promise. One she didn't ask for or want. A promise she didn't expect and one she couldn't bear to see him break. So, now she's trying to make sure that he won't and the longer it takes the more nerve wracking it gets. When she thinks she hears sounds of a struggle Jessica decides to investigate, not caring in the slightest if he's decent down there. Then she'll just grab his pants and his naked ass if she has to, to fly him out of this fire...

What she sees in the attic however makes her jump down next to him. Matt is already mostly dressed. His shirt is just hanging half open around him, a little burnt in some places, some buttons torn off and a little bloody around the area where that nasty arrow hit him. But what really catches her eye is the unconscious boy in black he's hunched over after he kicked him in the head just a second ago.

"That's just a kid...", he mumbles and she can barely hear him over the fire and the people outside fighting it. "They're child soldiers."

Matt takes all of the boy's weapons and she already knows what he wants her to do. "You want me to get him out, too."

"Before it all burns down, yeah..." He gives her the pleading half-smile of a guy who knows he's kinda cute, even when he's looking like a mess. Ugh... that never used to be her type. If it weren't for his sad bloodshot eyes... No, not true. She would have done it anyway, she admits begrudgingly, because that kid was probably brainwashed.

Maybe they're not so different after all. "I'll drop him first, in case he lashes out."

"Thanks..." He puts the weapons in a bag and wants to get up when he freezes in place because Jessica moves the shirt off his shoulder. Looking confused for a second, he tilts his head while her finger ghosts over the bandage. "Elektra took care of it."

"It was poisoned..." How are you still able to stand?

"Yeah..." He catches her wrist pulling her out of her thoughts. "I might still have to sleep it off later. It's fine. Don't... don't worry."

When he lets go of her hand Jessica picks the boy up. He isn't heavy, just quite tall and difficult to jump out the window with. She somehow manages it without hitting his head against the frame and she lays him down in the grass. After making sure one of the officers knows he's dangerous she jumps up again.

Matt made his way back onto the roof as well and he is waiting for her there. Part of her is surprised that he hasn't tried to go down on his own, but a second glance tells her that he's beyond exhausted. He was injured and poisoned earlier this evening, he fought a couple of ninjas while still recovering, lost his ex to a weird cult and got everyone out of a burning building. She wouldn't be surprised if he's close to collapsing.

That's usually the moment people make fateful mistakes. Like forgetting to hide their vigilante costume. "What did you do with the devil suit?"

He looks surprised for moment that she thought of it and decided to make sure it's gone. "It's in a bag hanging from a tree over there. I'll have to get it later." He points at it and luckily said bag isn't too colorful. She doesn't think she'd be able to see it if he hadn't shown it to her.

"Right. Come here." This time she holds out her arms to both sides, inviting him to let her carry his ass down. Matt slowly steps towards her, looking almost shy for a second and when he brings his arms around her neck she's almost shocked by his weight. The way that he apparently leans into her. Maybe he just can't hold it together. Before she can think about it she jumps down, away from the flames and any stupid leftover ninjas that could still be hiding. Back on solid ground, Matt doesn't move, even when she pats his back. She carefully lowers him to the ground, but he appears to be unconscious.

Okay, he did say something like that, so maybe this is no reason to panic.

She can hear someone call her from behind and tell everyone that she saved Matt, while she's checking his heartbeat which seems to have a normal rhythm, as far as she can tell. He's still sweating, still moving as if he's stuck in a fever dream and she decides or hopes that maybe he just needs some rest. There are no more arrows sticking out of him at least. That's the good news.

"I'll bring him back to you" is what he said when he was still wearing the costume. And there he is: Safe and sound, in his torn Matt-Murdock-shirt, breathing regularly - she hopes. It reminds her very much of that time when she had to pull him out of the lake and didn't know how to revive him. When she worried more about how it would look for the cameras. Only now it's very different, because she knows him. Knows his secrets, his motives, his struggle and his goals. And she likes him. A lot.

"Miss? Miss...? Can you move to the side so we check on him?" Jessica steps back quickly, watching as the paramedics do their work.

She sees how they put him on a stretcher and start to carry him to an ambulance, when suddenly he opens his eyes again, not looking anywhere specifically and calls for her. "Jessica?" Everyone stops while she rushes to his side, taking the hand that's reaching for her. "Can you... can you please tell Karen and Foggy that I'm okay...?"

"Of... of course..." She didn't know what else she expected. It makes sense that he wants them to know he's alive after they stopped airing the episode. They must be worried. Slowly she feels his hand slip out of hers.

Jessica lets the paramedics go with Matt and takes out her phone, finding texts and calls from Malcom and apparently Karen Page. She calls the woman back directly. "Jessica? Oh, thank god! Please tell me he's alright."

"Yeah... I think so. I mean... I'll bring him back to you."

Damn... that sentence really got stuck in her head.

Alarmed by a shrill voice behind her, Jessica turns around to hear Madison yell: "There's Daredevil again!"

"Wait a second..." Jessica mumbles into the phone and when she looks back at the fire, she's shocked to see someone in the devil costume wave at them, before vanishing behind the roof. What the hell? Even Matt looks like he wants to jump from the stretcher to investigate and the paramedics are trying to push him down.

Jay is filming his distress. "I know it's bad to say it, but if we had aired this it would have been the best episode ever..."

Quinn groans. "My ENTIRE set burned down and people DIED! AGAIN!" She slumps to the ground. "Please, tell me you at least caught Daredevil on camera. Maybe that we can work with later."

"I did", Jay grins triumphantly at his boss and Jessica is torn, because on the one hand: It means there's a video showing Matt and Daredevil at the same time which is good news. But on the other hand: Who the hell was that fucker?

* * *

_NOTE: To the shippers out there: I think this is a key moment here. How much are you gonna hate me if I go with a bit of an open ending? :) Just checking. _

_I feel I shouldn't go forward from here without a definitive plan however and I'd really like it if you'd tell me what really feels right now for this story. I've mentioned before that I'm not above alternative endings, but I think this is the moment I would go back to then. So, if there's anything you're hoping for to happen or not to happen, let me know. :D_

_I'm thinking 2 or 3 more chapters maybe..._


	20. Chapter 19: Mother & Father Figures

RACHEL

For years she has produced drama for entertainment, but this time she has outdone herself, hasn't she? And she's suffering the consequences herself which is probably karma catching up with her. She's in a hospital, it seems. Connected to machines that are keeping her alive somehow? The first thing she can recognise around her is Quinn's voice. The only one who's always been there for her when everyone else left, despite all the disagreements, even when she screwed up.

For some reason she's talking about her past to someone, but Rachel doesn't know who. "Her mother made sure she wouldn't talk about it to anyone and then she decided to confide in this asshole of all people who smelled a huge scandal and wanted to expose her and Everlasting with that fake contestant of his."

"It seems like he did have some incriminating stories to tell..." Oh, she gave him a lot of ammunition, Rachel agrees with the other voice who suspiciously sounds like... Foggy Nelson? But why would the lawyer visit her in the hospital? She has so many questions, but her lips just won't move and her eyes are still heavy, too.

"I'm not saying that whatever she went through as a teenager makes the choices she made as an adult okay," Quinn clarifies and Rachel wishes she could just go back to the nothingness before. "And I do admit that I pushed her to produce results as well, but Romeo didn't die when she orchestrated that encounter with the cops and his friend Darius got a happy ending with a girl he loves. So, I don't think they even want to talk about this anymore."

"And what about Mary?" Crap. They're discussing all her biggest mistakes. That's probably gonna take a while...

Is this hell...? It sure feels like it.

"That wasn't Rachel's fault," Rachel is surprised to hear Quinn clarify. "Sure, confronting that woman with a man who used to abuse her was reckless, but it was supposed to be empowering. Rachel actually had Mary's back and she didn't know that the contestant who was suffering from a bipolar mental disorder wasn't taking her medication. Sure, none of us feel good about what happened and maybe she shouldn't have been there in the first place, but it was an accident."

No, that was absolutely on them. It's not what they intended, of course not, but they were playing with fire. She was. When she finally starts seeing something despite the heavy eyelids Rachel can make out the woman defending her sitting on a chair by her bedside with her arms crossed. The blond lawyer is standing next to a window, leaning against the wall.

Finally, her lips also start to move. "We ARE responsible..."

"Rachel!" Her boss practically jumps from her chair and quickly excuses herself to get a doctor or a nurse or anyone, ignoring the words her employee just uttered and leaving her alone with the lawyer who hates her guts.

He actually moves a little towards the bed with a worried expression. "How are you?", she hears him ask after a few seconds while Rachel wonders what he's even doing there. She just laughs bitterly at his polite concern.

"Who did he pick?"

Now it's Nelson's turn to chuckle. "What, Matt? You're still thinking about your little matchmaking schemes?" Then she can see the amusement vanish from his face completely. "People died, Goldberg. Annie is dead. Three guards died protecting your crew, among others..."

The shock at hearing that makes her want to fall unconscious again. Of course. This is all on her. She can't stop the tears from spilling. "I'm so sorry... I wish I could take it all back..." She wishes she was never born and she's sobbing for what feels like forever. Nelson doesn't say a thing, but she can tell that he gets uncomfortable. At least he didn't mention Matt, Jessica, Karen or Elektra. So, all of them are probably fine. "Why are you even here...?"

Rolling his eyes Foggy declares: "Because we are representing you."

"You are... what...?" And more importantly: Why?

Wait, right... she was in that car with Jeremy and she recorded him and then...

"Just in case you need a lawyer."

Suddenly Quinn is back with a nurse who starts checking her. At the same time even more questions are popping up in her head, all of them alarming, like: Did Jeremy tell them about everything? Did he try to kill her to keep her from talking about him causing that car accident? Did she have an accident, too? She thinks she remembers something like this. And was he indeed trying to poison Jessica Jones to cover up his crime, like she suspected? Do people know who Matt is now? Does Quinn know? While the nurse does her job, Rachel concludes she has to talk to both of her visitors separately.

After the nurse convinced herself that Rachel is fine for now Nelson speaks up first and answers some of the questions she doesn't dare to ask out loud: "There was no evidence for the poison or for that accident, but Karen made Jeremy admit that he was responsible for the car crash that killed the ones threatening to spill your secrets and he says he was trying to protect you. She made him believe they'd pin it all on you and that he didn't want."

Always trying to be her hero, that creep. When he isn't hurting her. It gives her fucking goosebumps. Jeremy used to be a nice guy, when they first got together. Maybe she really did turn him into a psycho. Or it was always there and she just brought it to the surface. Like she always seems to do.

"Everlasting is hotter than ever," Quinn informs her. "We've lost the set, because it burned down while we were shooting the finale, but the network is building a new one, if we have a do-over and get killer ratings." Nelson coughs, disapprovingly at her choice of words.

"And Matt agreed to go along with this...?" Rachel really got him tangled up in some nightmare, didn't she?

The man's best friend rolls his eyes and nods. "He did, on one condition: You leave Everlasting."

Rachel is stunned and then looks at Quinn who's dark expression tells her that the lawyer is telling the truth. "I told him it depends on you, but..." She sighs and takes Rachel's hand to show her that she really does care. "He had some good arguments and... well, he told me that I'm using you..."

"That's not true!"

"I'm not so sure anymore. You're brilliant at this job, but only as long as you don't get better mentally." Rachel wants to protest that she's fine, that her mother's the one who tried to convince her that something is wrong with her, but the tears forming in her eyes make it impossible to deny it. She's a train wreck and they all know it. Her job was the only thing making her feel like she was good at something, but it did bring out her worst instincts. "We shot interviews with everyone about the live finale which got cut off when our set was overrun by freaking ninjas. Yeah, I know. Shit got really crazy. Of course, we're not allowed to use any footage that's part of an investigation, apart from the little clip of Daredevil at the scene that Jay already posted online anyway."

"Hang on, Matt agreed to this to... help me?" She doesn't care that he's a violent weirdo who dresses up as the devil. The man is a saint in her opinion.

"Yeah... I know. You found yourself an actual hero for once." Quinn rolls her eyes just as the man in question appears in the door with a small smile.

"It's your fault, Quinn. You told me not to disappoint her."

"I didn't think you'd steal her from me."

"It's her choice." Then he angles his face in Rachel's direction. "Glad to see you awake. I heard that Trish Walker wants to get in touch with you."

Her heart is suddenly beating faster and she knows that this might actually end up being her chance to get out and leave it all behind. But she doesn't deserve this. "I can't... Or I have to tell her then about everything I did. I can't just run from my mistakes. Maybe... maybe I should confess to Mary's sister about our role in her death..."

"No, you can't!", Quinn protests. "What good will this do?! You think you're gonna get a free conscience if Mary's kids go back to their aggressive father? Because that's what's gonna happen if her sister speaks up and tells everyone that you faked their mother's goodbye letter. You fixed it as much as you could! Leave it be."

"Quinn's right," Matt also assures her. "Karen took a close look at the family's situation and the kids are happily living with Mary'sister now. She also made her peace with it and her ex-husband is in therapy. Stirring it up won't help anyone now. And: You told Mary's truth in that letter, better than she ever could."

Rachel is conflicted, but even when she looks at Nelson who's way more critical of her than the others, he offers her a sad nod. She'll have to think about it. Desperate to change the topic Rachel then looks at Matt with her glassy eyes and asks what's been on the back of her mind: "So, how are things with Karen...?" Apparently she has been helping with this.

"Um..." Foggy actually has a small smile on his lips which is promising, while Quinn observes the way the current star of her show is adjusting his tie nervously. "I... don't know. We're going on a date to find out..."

It's cute how he can get all flustered suddenly, since he looked so in control before when they were sorting out her life. Let's see if she can dig some more... "Are Jessica and Elektra shooting the conclusion with you?"

"No..." She wishes he'd take off the glasses like he agreed to do on the show, so she could see how exactly he feels about this. "Elektra actually left to... to save my life, I guess." Of course there's probably more to that story, but she's going to have to ask him about it when they're alone. If he wants to talk about it which is probably not the case by the look on his face.

"And Jessica is done with the show. But we're in contact." Now that's a small miracle. "She and Daredevil got me out of the fire..." Oh, okay. That also answers that question about his identity being safe. At least she didn't mess up his life more permanently than she already did. Maybe she caused him some heartbreak and a lot of trouble, but if Karen knows the truth now and Jessica is gonna continue to be a part of his life it wasn't all bad. The Black Sky shit would have happened anyway and as long as Daredevil isn't arrested maybe this actually might have been worth it in the end... Could she hope to redeem herself even?

"So, does anyone have Walker's number?", Rachel asks quietly, noticing Quinn's sad and somehow relieved smile.

"I'll tell Jessica that you want to meet her," Matt says and then he tells the Everlasting queen that she can start to prepare for one last shoot.

Eventually the lawyers leave her alone with Quinn she feels like she has to apologise for all the drama she caused again behind the scenes. "I'm sorry that I'm such a mess..."

"Hey, no, it's okay. Matt is right. This job isn't good for you." Quinn smiles in that knowing way. "He saw through you quite well."

"Oh god, please! You know he's not into me."

"But you know who he's into, right...?" Rachel tries to avoid her gaze. "Come on, Goldberg. Just give me a hint who you think would be good with him. One last time."

"I don't know. I think I've messed with him enough." Her boss and mentor looks disappointed, but she doesn't push her since she just woke up from a coma.

A couple of days later Rachel can leave the hospital finally and the first thing she does is find Nina to deliver Lucy's letter to her, without any cameras around. After assuring her that the danger was dealt with, Nina seems relieved and she then tears open the envelope. The smile on that woman's face when she sees who it's from is the moment Rachel decides that maybe she didn't ruin everything after all. "I'm looking forward to the last episode next week," Nina says and winks.

"Me too." Rachel smiles, having no clue what's gonna happen this time.

* * *

JESSICA

She didn't even bother to answer the producers' calls until Quinn called her personally to ask if she wanted to appear in one last episode. Jessica used all the curses that would have been censored on TV in her response. She was done making a fool of herself. Her case was closed, the Hand disappeared with Elektra and there was simply no reason to continue this farce.

If she wanted to see Matt she could just call him and they obviously needed to talk after the live finale, too. There was just so much work to catch up on for both of them and she wasn't gonna put her life on hold while he was making up his mind. Then again, neither did he. When they briefly met he did tell her that he had a lot to think about and she did not like the expression he gave her then. Although she never clearly told him how she felt either, so Jessica didn't blame him and she wasn't exactly eager to have a longer conversation about... feelings anyway.

So, after she refused Quinn's offer one night before the shoot she got very, very drunk.

And she was regretting it this morning when she got that call from the Black Sky herself. "Hello, Jessica..." Even through the phone that voice could grab your attention, but what made her sit up despite the headache was the the bad feeling in her stomach.

Something had to be wrong. "What happened...?"

"Good, your head's still in the game. I'm gonna need you to help our boy out." Since Jessica can't manage more than a groan, Elektra explained to her that a former contestant who was pretending to still want to date Matt was actually working for the Hand. Apparently "Celine" wasn't happy that her organisation agreed to leave Daredevil alone.

"Okay, where do I find her?"

"I'm afraid I can only tell you where they are shooting..."

Just great. That can't be happening. "Why don't you go and storm in then? I'm sure Quinn would roll out the red carpet for you."

"Oh, I would love to, but I'm busy across the ocean right now. So..."

Getting out of the bed Jessica's head is still spinning, but she doesn't have much of a choice, so she tells Elektra to give her the fucking address and a time.

She only had two hours to get there, so she put on the first clean shirt and jeans she could find, got enough coffee into her system to wake up a corpse (with a shot of Whiskey) and took the fastest route to the location. The place where the Everlasting crew set up Matt's last date is a cute little café.

"Matt, if you're listening: Celine belongs to the Hand. Elektra warned me." She doesn't know if he's focusing on his surroundings, but it's worth a try.

Quinn's jaw drops as soon as she spots her and she runs to greet Jessica with a firm: "No, no, no... You are not going on camera in this. Not in the last episode. I'm glad you came, but this is supposed to be special..."

"You're shooting in a café," Jessica points out.

"We're trying to make it look like a chance meeting." Funnily she has no issue with a second chance meeting in the same café it seems. Yeah... because Reality TV stars always meet randomly in real life. "Celine watched the entire rest of the show and she is supposed to see Matt do his last interview after none of his relationships worked out and... Oh, there she is!"

Jessica then sees the girl who got one of the first dates with Matt sit down right next to him after acting like she didn't know she would find him there. She's scarily convincing as well.

Telling Quinn that she'll either go like she is or not at all, Jessica then walks past the producer and she already sees a hint of Matt's smirk, before Celine turns around with a frown.

Taking a deep breath Jessica prepares herself to do what she never in a million years could have anticipated: Steal a man from another woman on national TV. "Murdock, we need to talk."

"Jessica...? What are you doing here?" He obviously heard or - lets be honest - smelled her coming before her dramatic entrance. Of course he doesn't look surprised. In fact there's no reaction at all on his guarded face. Not that it matters. She's here to save him from Celine, not to admit to him and confirm for both of them how she really feels.

Or maybe it doesn't matter why she's there, because now she realises this won't be possible without putting some cards on the table. "I've changed my mind."

There. That had some effect on him. Probably because she isn't fucking lying and it surprises them both. He could ignore it, of course. If he isn't interested anymore. She knows that he's going on a date with Karen. She's a PI. Of course, she knows. And she was going to wait and see what happens. But...

Now Matt is getting up from his chair and reaching for his stupid cane. The thing that reminds her that this is supposed to be an act, while there's a light in his eyes making it seem like he's genuinely happy to see her. "About what did you change your mind...? Me?"

Jessica thinks she might have to go with some honesty, to avoid talking about the way he managed to go under her skin sometimes, because he'd know it was true and if he didn't feel the same way...

"About me, actually. I thought, I wasn't what you seemed to see in me and I realised that maybe you weren't that wrong after all." You saw a fellow vigilante, someone who gives a shit. And here I am. Giving a shit about you.

There's a small smile appearing on his face now and then slowly, he takes one step in her direction, until his cane taps against her foot. Jessica looks at the ground, at the blind man's aid and then both his hands grabbing it, as if there was something else he wants to do with them, but he's still trying to hold back.

"How would you feel about having some Indian food with me?" He doesn't say "Chicken Tikka", their ridiculous safeword, but he seems to offer a way out for her. And she knows it's not just about kissing in front of the camera this time.

Jessica doesn't want there to be any misunderstandings between them anymore, so she decides to make this as clear as she can. "I rather liked what we had at that charity event." And she's so not talking about the food. It was the first time they kissed without an audience. "Do you remember?"

Now there's a cheeky grin. "I remember." Then he reaches back to get his jacket and "clumsily" knocks over his glass of wine. Probably poisoned again. Jessica sees Celine's annoyed face and smirks. Yep, she's busted. She probably planned to disappear after killing Matt, but she knows that'll be a lot harder now that they figured out she belongs to the Hand.

There's only one thing left to do.

Jessica takes a deep breath and leans forward until their lips meet again. They are both hesitant, careful and in Jessica's case self conscious, because he'll know that her heart is beating faster. And that is just not fair. As flattering as it is to have Matt Murdock's full attention while kissing her, it also still makes her feel exposed. He'll know she hasn't showered today and despite brushing her teeth he's gonna sense that she threw up this morning. Which is just... gross...

However, he doesn't seem to mind, because he pulls her closer, breathing in her smelly hair between kisses and chuckling. Her embarrassment somehow even makes him kiss her harder, which is annoying, but also very good. And then he stops to whisper in her ear: "I can tell you hurried over here..." Asshole.

Jessica decides to return some balance to this by cupping his cheek with one hand and locking lips again while moving down his neck with her investigative fingers until she can feel his pulse.

Oh yeah... Seems like he's quite excited, too. Or very nervous. Or both.

Suddenly he breaks away with a frown and Jessica looks around searching for Karen watching them or something, but then she realises that Celine is gone.

"Cut!", yells Quinn and everyone starts to applaud. They got their ending it seems. Matt tilts his head, but then he shakes it, letting her know that he can't find Celine with his senses.

His arm is still around her waist. "Can we talk? Alone?"

Jessica nods nervously. "Maybe we should-"

"Matt! We can't find Celine! Can you come here to do one more interview? You, too, Jessica... Please?" Rolling her eyes Jessica steps away from Matt who seems just as annoyed as her and then asks her to go first, because he "has to take care of something". Knowing this can't be good, Jessica reluctantly agrees and then watches him leave to probably chase after Celine. At least he knows what he's getting into.

He's still not back when she's done with her interview and doesn't pick up his phone either. Jessica waits with the crew for five minutes, before she leaves, not sure if she should be worried or mad.

* * *

MATT

The moment he noticed that Celine was gone, Matt got really nervous. And it got even worse when he sensed Stick's presence. The fact that he could pick up on it would mean one of two things: Either Stick wanted him to know that he was there or he got into a fight with Celine and wasn't able to cover his tracks so well.

Matt didn't want to leave without an explanation, especially after what just happened with Jessica, but he had to look into this. He was able to follow Stick's scent for ten minutes and then lost it without a trace.

Running back to the shoot to talk to Jessica he only finds a very angry Quinn who insists that he should do his interview right away or she would convince Rachel to stay with her, so he complies. He tries to call Jessica back, but she doesn't pick up.

Matt goes home with too many thoughts in his head and he nearly jumps in surprise when he suddenly hears Stick's voice from his couch. "Matty, Matty... You'll never learn."

After getting a grip Matt retorts: "I guess you didn't teach me well then." He grabs a beer from his fridge trying to stay calm. "It's not like you were any help. They took Elektra and you weren't there to prevent it."

"They didn't take her. She went with them freely. You should have killed her."

"She did it to save everyone."

"She did it to save you."

He can't be serious. "And you wanted me to kill her for it. You wanted me to pretend that the Black Sky isn't a person, but a thing. Something evil."

Stick stands up then pointing his finger at Matt. "There is only one reason she did what she did: Because I brought her to you."

What? "I... I don't understand..."

"I was not able to kill Ellie when she was young either. But I knew she was wild and violent and essentially wired to be bad."

"I don't believe in that."

"You're an idiot." Before Matt can throw his former mentor out however he goes on and what he has to say makes Matt listen despite himself. "One day I realised that I hadn't raised her to be better. I only trained her to be effective and she wasn't exactly loyal. But I remembered this boy I once tried to turn into a soldier, too. He was soft and even at that young age had a good idea about right and wrong..."

Now Matt feels like he's frozen to the spot. If he had Jessica's power the bottle in his tight grip would be broken by now. "You send her to seduce me. She told me."

"She told you what I told her. And it wasn't wrong. I wanted you back in our team. But, you know, there was a particular reason for that: I wanted you to show her how to be good."

He doesn't appear to be lying. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Would you have listened? You were living by your father's wishes. Becoming a lawyer, refusing to fight... I only came back to you when I saw that you were finally embracing the fighter in you."

"So, you wanted her to make me kill someone." This makes no sense at all.

"I knew you wouldn't have the guts to kill your father's killer."

Matt huffs bitterly. Trust Stick to still mock the very part of his personality that he just told him he needed. "Why did you come here now?"

"I came to thank you." Matt tilts his head sensing the lie. "That's what you were hoping to hear, Matty, isn't it? A little pat on the back for a job well done?"

The sarcastic tone almost makes Matt launch an attack, but he's too paralysed from his heart breaking yet again. He's determined not to show that he's affected by this, which is obviously in vain in front of someone like Stick. So, he quietly takes it all in, feeling every word like a blow to his stomach.

"Thank you," Stick continues while moving across the room. "For allowing the biggest weapon to fall into the Hand's... hands. I truly hope, for your sake as well as mine that you won't regret it. That Ellie deserves the faith you put in her and she won't end up using the Hand to spread terror like she's destined to."

"Easy to say for you when you weren't even there. If things had gone your way everyone would have died that day."

"Guess we'll never know..." Stick is standing by the door to the roof now. "But I want you to keep in mind that at some point you have to pick a side in this battle. And you might have to make a hard decision when you see her again."

"I know...", Matt reluctantly admits. She still joined the Hand and he just doesn't know what that will do to her. Maybe the next time they meet they will be enemies. And he'll still try to help her, but if he can't...

"Good." The man who as it turns out still knows how to pull his strings opens the door and before he goes he adds ominously: "And don't worry about Celine."

He doesn't dare to ask.

It's only after the man is gone that Matt takes notice of a smell he hadn't picked up before. Something too familiar to stand out for him. It's the Daredevil suit lying on his couch. Matt hurries to inspect it and sure enough Stick's scent is all over his armour. He was there. He was there and he didn't kill Elektra either. And he also made sure that Matt wasn't exposed which leaves him with even more questions than he had before.

He is about to chase after Stick when he hears the door bell ring and he decides that he is obviously not gonna get the answers he wants from this guy, so with a frustrated sigh he goes to open his main door to a smiling Karen Page showing up for their first date. Her expression however turns into a frown quickly and she asks him what's wrong.

Opening his mouth Matt doesn't know where to begin and he feels his eyes sting, when he starts stuttering nervously: "I... I know this isn't fair to you, but I think I could really use a friend..."

Karen only hesitates for a second before she moves in to give him a comforting hug, rubbing circles on his back. In that moment Matt is suddenly overwhemed with gratitute and relief that he was able to leave his mentor's teachings behind enough to tell her the truth. Karen Page is a gift that he is never going to take for granted again. And the first thing he owes her now is the truth.


	21. Chapter 20: The Stalker

Notes: This is now the ending that felt most right to me... Hope you like it! :)

* * *

KAREN

"I'll bring him back to you..." were Jessica's words on the phone when they finally got some confirmation that Matt was alive. At first Karen didn't really think about it, only later she started wondering what it could mean. Did Jessica just say that she'd bring him home? Or did she imply that she considered Matt to belong to Karen? Maybe subconsciously?

However, the woman didn't sound happy when she said it, while Karen herself was so relieved to hear he's alive that Jessica's resigned tone felt just odd enough for her to remember. And when he came back things moved very slowly. They were working together to help out Rachel and one day Karen just asked him out. He did agree immediately, but he also looked a little unsure and they only found time for it right after the last shoot.

So, now that the day has come Karen isn't really blindsided when he says he just needs a friend. She had a suspicion before that he already made his decision and maybe didn't even realise it himself. Maybe he was waiting for Elektra to come back or for Jessica to give their relationship a serious try.

"You want to talk about it?", Karen asks while taking in his troubled expression. It's so rare facing him without the glasses. She started to see them as his daytime mask ever since she found out about his double life. "I'm a good listener..."

Accepting her offer with a little nod Matt leads her to the couch. But she can tell that it's still hard for him when he nervously walks back to his kitchen. "You want a beer?" Karen sees the other empty bottle on the counter and quickly agrees that she needs one herself, too.

Matt obviously has to gather his thoughts, so Karen waits until they both have a drink and he's sitting down next to her. "So? What happened?"

"It's the guy who taught me how to fight," Matt starts. "He... he brought me back my armour today."

Karen remembers that they briefly talked about his blind mentor and at the orphanage the nuns also had some things to say. Things that did not paint a pretty picture. She can also recall how Matt immediately shut her out when the topic came up after he revealed his secret. Considering that he is able to talk about his father's death and his accident, both events that anyone would consider traumatic, his training being a no-go speaks volumes already. This can't have been a very healthy student-mentor-relationship.

But that man bringing back his armour could mean only one thing. "Wait. So, he was the one who appeared as Daredevil after you changed back into your regular clothes?" Maybe this man wasn't as bad as she had feared?

"So it seems." Matt does not look happy about it though.

"He helped you out, then?"

"Yeah... But I think he only did it, because I won't be any use to him if I ended up in jail..."

Okay, this however sounds like the guy is even worse than she feared. "Matt, that's awful... I'm so sorry..."

"Don't worry... I've learned to expect that. We've had some differences of opinion in the past. He still taught me everything I can do today... I owe him a lot." As if that would make it better. Karen hates the thought of this young recently blinded boy who was trained in martial arts only to be used later.

Matt then launches into a freaky tale about ninja cults and his ex being this weapon his teacher's arch enemies were looking for and it all makes zero sense. Especially all the insane things this psycho apparently told Matt. That he was soft (Hello?! Daredevil?!), that relationships were weaknessess (Foggy is his rock, seriously!), that he was a failure because he refused to kill Elektra (Karen might have had her murderous Elektra-fantasies, but she still thinks not killing her made Matt the good guy.). It sounds as ridiculous as it sounds horrifying.

"Are you crying...?" Those are tears of anger, by the way. If that Stick guy ever shows up again, she's gonna murder him. Blind or not. "Karen, it's fine. I'm sorry, I didn't want to upset you... I'm okay. It... he doesn't affect me that much anymore... "

Not anymore... oh crap. This explains so much.

He's now frantically wiping the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs, trying to console her which is surreal. She should be comforting him.

"It's not FINE!", she snaps. "How can it be fine?"

"Because I'm able to help people...", Matt mumbles defensively and Karen realises that yeah... he can pretend all he wants, but it obviously still affects him quite a lot. Otherwise the man posing as Daredevil to help him out wouldn't bother him like this.

"You're grateful to him..." To this mad man who pretty much ruined his life, his chance to form normal relationships. "Do you think he cares?"

It's funny how even without eyesight Matt still tends to look away, when he's uncomfortable, avoiding her gaze. "Does it matter?"

"I think it does. To you." Karen nudges his face in her direction again. "That's why you're upset."

"I don't..." The conflict is very visible on his face. "I hate him." He doesn't sound convincing to anyone in the room.

"It's okay if you don't, Matt."

"I was so scared that I'd prove him right... and then he actually helped me keep my secret and my friends safe." She can see how much he's hurting over this. "He proved me wrong."

"You said he did it for his own gain," Karen reminds him softly. "He's trying to keep you on a leash."

"I'm just... I'm not so sure about that." Interesting...

"Then, maybe he proved you right."

Matt tilts his head. "In what way?"

"By showing that even your relationship to him is not a weakness..."

Matt actually snorts at that. "You can't be serious."

"I am!", Karen insists. "You know what I think? He cares about you and he's too much of a coward to admit it. That's why he helped you. Your relationship with him saved your secret identity."

Still looking sceptical Matt actually starts to smile a little bit. "I'm not saying I believe this, but I like the way you think, Page."

"Good." Squeezing his leg in a friendly way Karen grabs her beer again. "Now let's order some food. I'm starving already!"

After ordering Pizza Karen tells Matt that she actually wants to quit working for Nelson & Murdock to be a reporter at the Bulletin. She had initially decided this, because she didn't want to date Matt while working for his firm, but even now that it looks like this won't be happening, it still feels like the right thing to do. And not just to get over him. "I plan to still see you a lot at Josie's. You and Foggy, I mean... And if I ever have any tips for a certain masked vigilante I'll also let you know..."

The smile on his face still looks a little sad, so she decides to cheer him up by telling him about Foggy actually developing a taste for dating shows after their little TV experience which Matt finds rather hilarious, especially knowing now first hand how fake it all is.

"All of it...?", she questions knowingly.

"Well, most of it," Matt corrects himself.

Suddenly Matt tilts his head in that odd way he does when he's listening to something. "I think Jessica is watching us." Karen turns to search for the PI outside, but he hurries to stop her. "Don't look! You won't be able to see her anyway..."

"Do you... Do you want me to make her jealous...?" Hopefully not...! The idea sounded good in her head, but kissing him now, knowing that he's not going to be with her...

"I don't think that's a good idea," Matt quickly agrees with her thoughts. "She already crashed my TV date earlier."

By the way Matt's eyes light up at the memory, that interruption was certainly welcome. And while Karen was prepared for this, it still stings a little bit. "That's a shame. Well, if she needs a little push, you know where to reach me." Karen winks at him and gets up to leave.

"You don't have to..."

"No, I do. I think you should talk to Jessica and I'll go home and call Foggy to bitch about his friend being a real womanizer," Karen jokes. It's his image already anyway.

Matt however does not find it very funny. "Karen, I'm sorry for leading you on..."

"It's fine. Really. At least I'll worry about you a little less now."

"Yeah... I think you'll be better off without me anyway." He offers her a little smile.

If it makes him feel better. "Maybe..."

"But whenever you need me..."

"I know, Matt." She waits at the door remembering something else he told her earlier. "Just promise me to forget all that crap you were taught about staying alone and miserable."

He laughs at that. "I promise I'll try." She kisses his cheek for that and hurries down the stairs, feeling that in the end despite everything this could have gone a lit worse.

* * *

MATT

After closing the door behind Karen Matt walks back to his big windows, tilts his head and tries to confirm that Jessica is still sitting there. When he makes her out he shakes his head unable to keep the smile from his face. Raising his eyebrows he makes a sign telling her to just come to his apartment. For a moment he thinks she's just gonna leave, but seconds later he can hear her landing on his roof and he goes to get the door. "Were you stalking me, Jones?", Matt asks with a smirk.

"You of all people don't get to complain about that." Fair enough. Also, the little blush from the blood flowing to her cheeks shows him that she's a bit embarrassed, too, about getting caught like this. Although pointing that out would only prove her point.

"What do you want?", he asks while Jessica inspects the bottles in his kitchen.

"You invited me in." He can hear her hair brush against her shoulder as she shrugs and points at a particularly expensive drink. "Aren't you gonna offer me anything?"

Wordlessly Matt takes a glass and fills it with alcohol, before offering it to her, but Jessica grabs the whole bottle instead making him smirk at her. She leans against his counter and he can tell that she's studying him even while drinking. Secretly praying that he's not scaring her off again Matt takes the bottle back afterwards. "I don't want you to be drunk for this... I don't want you to do anything you'll regret."

"It's a little late for that," Jessica deadpans.

But he has a feeling that she may always be a little drunk anyway. "Not more than usual, then." She could drink a little less in general...

After that their conversation however takes a turn that he didn't see coming before. "I think you should hire me." Somehow Jessica Jones still manages to take him by surprise, despite all his senses being completely enthralled by her.

"I should what?"

"Hire me." Her heartbeat tells him that she actually means it. "You need a bodyguard."

He should have seen that coming. "Is that why you were watching over me out there? I think I'm capable of defending myself actually." Sure she may have saved him once or twice, but there are no cameras on him now. So, sticking out his chin, Matt is even a little insulted by the suggestion.

"Calm down, karate kid. I know that Daredevil can defend himself." Jessica's tone suggests that she's probably rolling her eyes at him and then she pokes his chest with her index finger, almost making him take a step back. "But you DO realise that Matt Murdock has almost as many enemies as him, right? And whether he's on TV, in court or in his office... those horns can't be with him..."

With the way her voice turns soft towards the end, he understands that she isn't there to insult him, but out of concern. She has seen what kind of trouble he gets into in his regular life as well and that he can't fight it openly. She also doesn't get tired of reminding him that he's more vulnerable than her. It's a good offer thinks the reasonable part of his brain while another part is now a little disappointed that she may only be there for business. "I'll think about it." It would be nice to have her around, even if she's just being professional.

He still thinks there could be more to it however, especially when he hears her next question: "So, why did Karen leave so early?" It's obviously supposed to sound casual, but biting her lip afterwards gives away her nervousness.

Come on, Jess. He heard her camera clicking. Of course, he didn't want her to get the wrong idea. "Why do you think?"

Matt can hear her head spin around. "Did she not want an audience, then?" Unlike Elektra, they are both probably thinking.

"No. She just knew I was more interested in said audience." Speechless, Jessica stands there with her mouth opening and closing quickly which is kind of amusing, because it takes a lot to make her act like this.

Should he have been annoyed about her watching him with Karen instead of talking to him? Maybe. But they both got their issues.

She then tries to pull the bottle out of his hand again. Only this time he doesn't let go. She would have to use her strength, but she doesn't. Instead she brushes her lips against his, making him loosen his grip just enough for her to take what she wants.

Which isn't the bottle after all. Putting it on the counter next to them Jessica starts kissing him more thoroughly and Matt matches her eagerness in kissing her back and bringing his arms around her.

When she pulls back again, Jessica is looking down, panting, but not moving away. Yet. "You have to hire me, Matt. Just... whenever things get rough..."

"Okay..." It's the sincerity in her voice and the unusual lack of snark that makes him agree finally. He also remembers her words from earlier as well. "I really was right about you. You do give a damn." She didn't say it, but she might have thought it.

The comment earns him a soft smack against his chest. "You're such a-..."

Unable to finish that thought with his tongue in her mouth Jessica kicks his shin. "Ow!"

"I hate it when you tell me how I feel."

He should know this by now. "I was just teasing you...! And I can't help knowing... In fact, without my senses I never would have thought you even liked me."

She makes a disbelieving sound. "I would never ever have kissed anyone on TV if I didn't want to. Not even for a stupid case."

"Well, I wouldn't have known that, or would I?"

"But you did!" He did. There were clues. Even Trish knew that she wasn't faking it.

Matt kisses her again just like he wanted to from the beginning, when Jessica was trying hard not to participate in this silly TV dating ritual, when she was starting to show signs that she was attracted to him and then when she was actually developing feelings for him and pushing him away because of who he was and what he did. Of course, he had sensed it all and he was just as confused as her most of the time, especially with Elektra and Karen around.

If Stick hadn't made his worries emerge again and if Jeremy hadn't tried to poison her, he would not have let her doubt this so much. "Jessica..."

But before he can tell her all of that, she has a question that is a lot easier to answer "Why me?"

Tilting up her chin he's pretty confident that if he had said the next words on camera, he'd have won the majority of the TV audience over. Which is why he didn't say them. "Because you're right that I saw more in you than you give yourself credit for. I saw someone who's been through hell and owning it. I saw a friend who would never turn her back on me, even after realising what an idiot I am. I saw a partner who I can be myself around and a woman I'm falling in love with."

"Bullshit. You don't see anything." For once he's a little annoyed at the blind joke.

Was it too much? Maybe, going by the sceptical face Jessica makes. He blames Rachel and the other producers for always making him come up with speeches like that. "I'm serious."

"Shut up," she says before kissing him again and pulling him towards the bedroom just when the stupid doorbell rings.

The pizza, right. But they're both not hungry right now, so he decides to ignore the delivery and tip them very well next time.

* * *

JESSICA

Waking up in a place that isn't her own can be bad, so when she stirs and feels foreign silk sheets around her the panic attack comes right at the heels of consciousness. And there is also someone running into the room, talking to her and taking her hand in his. On instinct she pulls it away again and covers her ears, before she sees Matt kneeling by her bedside, unsure what to do. His words aren't dangerous. He's probably just saying her name, so she slowly moves her hands from her ears. "Jessica? Jess...? Breakfast is almost ready. But... but you can stay here as long as you need, okay? And if you need a drink, there's still some from yesterday..."

She just stares at him while he hurries to leave her alone again."I gotta take cake of the eggs... Just call if you need me... I'll hear it."

Matt closes the door behind him, but she knows that he is probably still focusing on her heartrate that is slowing down now. There is not a lot of privacy around Matt and he probably sensed her panic attacks over weeks when they were travelling together. Not that they happened every morning, but every time she felt disoriented enough. It's just not fair that he knows these things about her when she doesn't even know what he argued about with his mentor earlier last night.

It was probably about Elektra and maybe he would tell her if she asked...

She doesn't have to ask what Stick left to him. When he was checking it frantically, she could see bits of the armour he also wore around her a couple of times. At the realisation who had stepped in to help him out she saw different emotions flicker across his face within moments. A hint of joy, followed by anger and what she would describe bottomless emptiness that made her want to run to him, like he did to her just now.

But she had seen Karen enter the building for their date and she just hoped he wouldn't be in the mood for that. Then she saw him place his pretty guest on the couch instead for what looked like a very tense conversation followed by him calling someone, probably ordering food, and the mood changed to something more chill.

At least until he noticed her. And then Karen left. "She just knew that I was more interested in the audience," he had said. He wasn't even bothered that she was watching him. If anything, he seemed amused, smug even. Of course, she was right in pointing out that he could listen to her without her permission. To her heartbeat going crazy moments ago, to any phone call she'd do now, so calling Trish right now to pick her up is not an option.

Is that what she wants? To leave?

He didn't choose to know all these things about her. He didn't sniff around on purpose. Like her...

Suddenly ashamed of her own behaviour Jessica starts to get dressed quickly. This was a mistake. Matt doesn't need someone calling him out on things he doesn't do intentionally. And she's such a hypocrite. Invading someone's privacy is second nature even to her and she's judging him for it.

And then she stops. What the fuck is she doing?! The guy she was longing to kiss again is making breakfast out there and she's just going to leave as if this was a bad one night stand.

Shit and the thought of facing him after all these thoughts... She has to clear her head. Come back some other time to explain...

Jessica heads out of his bedroom and face to face with his confused frown tugging at her heart, she almost changes her mind again. Almost. "Um... I've got some work. Thanks. For everything... We'll be in touch..."

We'll be in touch?! God, that was awful and she can't blame Matt for not knowing what to say. "Right...", is all he can come up with. And then he even smiles at her.

Before he can say anything else Jessica flees the apartment, crushed by the weight of understanding in the room. Why isn't he mad at her? She is. And barely outside she stops and stands still, leaning one hand against the wall with her head still spinning and her stomach also protesting, because - yeah - that smelled really good.

Jessica slumps down on the wall next to his door and she doesn't even have energy left to feel embarrassed when he comes out with a plate. "Aren't you hungry?", he asks with a hesitant smile.

He probably knows. He probably heard, damn it. "I am," she mutters, angry at herself. The thing is: This is the mess he got himself stuck with and she seriously can't believe how he just manages to roll with it now.

Can they, please, pretend that this didn't happen?

"So, how about... you come back in then and we eat breakfast together." Okay, but he still can't read her thoughts, Jessica tries to remind herself.

"Alright. That's a good plan." The casualness in which he is dealing with her little freakout actually makes her laugh out loud and shake her head.

Encouraged by the change in her mood he even holds out a hand to help her up and she takes it in a heartbeat. They go back in and her little episode is not mentioned again.

While eating they also talk about the Stick situation and Jessica has to give Page some credit for what she had to say about it. "Your friend is wise."

"She is," Matt agrees. "I'm glad she's becoming a reporter full time now. We were holding her back anyway." Jessica is glad, too. It's not like she doesn't trust Matt around the pretty blonde. But she's aware that there's some history and it's just a bit of a relief that he's not seeing every day what he's missing out on, while she's a bit of a mess.

Which is a huge understatement.

They spend a comfortable morning chatting together like this and Jessica doesn't feel the urge to leave again, until Malcom actually calls about some work she has to do. "See you tonight?"

"Catch me if you can," he smirks and she's already looking forward to it.

* * *

Notes: Jessica working as Matt's bodyguard is something that I think happened in the Defenders comics. Correct me if I'm wrong. That was the plan from the beginning of this fic.

I know some of you hoped for something different and if you'd like to read another version of the ending, let me know. I can write it. But I appreciate all readers and commenters who stuck with this story. Thank you so much! You're the best! :D

Otherwise I'm done writing and will stick to reading for now. However it would make me very happy if you would check out my other finished stories. :) This started out as a writing and language practice, so I'd appreciate all kinds of feedback. If you'd let me know your thoughts that would make my day.


	22. Alternative Ending

Notes: Just so you know, I'm planning to do another alternative ending if this isn't the one you were hoping for. It picks up after chapter 18.

I don't want to repeat too much, so some of the information that I already provided in the previous ending won't come up in detail here. Some of it is slightly different. You'll see. :)

* * *

KAREN

Hopefully, there won't be any ninja attacks in the second finale for Everlasting's season with Matt. They shot it the day before, so someone would probably have mentioned if there were any massacres, right? And they wouldn't air it then anyway. Elektra and Jessica also won't be a part of it, so Karen is a little less nervous about the outcome. No matter what happens: at least this madness will finally be over. No more watching the guy she's kinda drawn to make out with other women on TV after this. Just one more episode to get through.

Jessica said that she'd bring Matt back to her and she did. But he was distant. He got hurt quite a bit, but that wasn't the issue. It's not like Karen expected him to ask her out right away, so if he hasn't done it yet, it wasn't mean that he won't. There's no hurry, really. Still, something tells her that her time is running out and the longer it takes, the more likely it is that he just wants her to be his friend. Or maybe he needs time to get over Elektra, maybe he still has feelings for Jessica that she can't return.

He hugged her when he came back and she held him as long as he allowed her to. Which was quite long. Of course, Karen was careful not to put pressure on any of his wounds, but he made no sign of being in pain. Physical pain at least. After a long moment of being comfortable in his arms she whispered in his ear that she was so relieved to see him alive. "I really thought we lost you." He squeezed her a little harder then and that must have hurt somewhere, but he still didn't acknowledge it, before letting go of her suddenly and collecting himself.

After readjusting his glasses, he sighed and then went right back to business, to Rachel's case. They didn't talk about anything else since then.

Maybe he just wants to finish the show first and everything connected to it. Next time she sees him, she's gonna ask directly. She needs to know where she stands with him. If they're gonna stay friends she'll be able to deal with that, but she needs to know. It would be fine. It was fine before. There always was this tension between them and they never did anything about it. It's not like she's gonna think back to that kiss they shared all the time.

Although it was a great kiss... But no, really... She'll get over it.

She will!

Okay... it may take some time to get there. Of course, she can't get there while she watches close-ups of him licking those lips nervously on TV. Karen also sees him stiffen visibly which makes her worry again. Something's up. Again, this is a recording, silly, nothing will happen to him.

And then... Oh, crap.

When Jessica shows up on her screen Karen's jaw drops and she puts down her glass of water. He could have told her about this today at work, but he didn't. He must know that they are airing it today. Matt doesn't even look surprised to see the PI interrupt him and Celine, not even when she says she changed her mind.

When Matt is getting up from his chair there's a light in his eyes making it seem like he's genuinely happy to see Jessica again. "What did you change your mind about...? Me?" The woman he was talking to before is now rolling her eyes in the back and Karen can relate, although she was just as annoyed at her before. This is so cringy it has to be scripted.

"About me, actually." Yadda yadda yadda... she should switch the TV off really. She knows where this is going and she won't know if it's genuine anyway, unless they tell her it is the next day. And either way she's seen him kiss enough.

But they would have told her before if it isn't real, right? If Matt still intended to go out with her, he would have made sure that she didn't watch this or at least didn't take this seriously. The more she thinks about it the more obvious it seems that her little crush is rather hopeless. Watching Jessica claim his lips once more, Karen finally gives up and switches the TV off, cursing Matt for not having the guts to tell her himself and letting a reality show settle things between them. "What a coward...", she mumbles.

"I didn't think we'd agree on this." The voice behind her makes Karen jump up and grab the closest weapon she could think of which happens to be a fork that still has some spaghetti on it. "Relax, I'm not here to harm you or you'd be dead already."

Karen tries to push down her panic and focus on the intruder standing in her living room as if he has every right to scare her like this. It's when she notices the old man's strange eyes that the penny drops. "You're the guy who trained Matt..."

"You're clever. Good. I don't have to waste time with introducing myself, then."

"What do you want?", Karen practically growls. She remembers the nun's stories about a young innocent boy who was clearly mistreated by this man and she remembers her own anger at hearing about it. But at the same time she is aware that she's no match for Matt's mentor, so she needs to stay calm and find out what that asshole wants. If he hits children, she guesses that he'll have no qualms about hurting women...

"I've got good advice for you." Hearing that Karen scoffs and crosses her arms. Yeah, so much for the plan of not antagonising the blind ninja. But she can't help it. Advice? Really?! "You young people think you've got it all figured out, don't you?"

Glaring at him Karen says: "No, but I'm not taking advice from a guy who screwed up a friend of mine for life."

Stick tilts his head in a way that is earily similar to the way Matt moves and it gives her the chills. "Sweety, I'm the only reason he's still alive. With his sense of justice, how long would it have taken for him to piss off powerful people who wanted him dead, even without his little hobby? What do you think?"

An image of James Wesley with several gunshot wounds pops up in her head and she stubbornly ignores it. "Violence isn't the solution-"

Now it was Stick's turn to scoff. "You don't even sound like you believe that."

"Fine, say your bit. Like I care."

"Oh, you're gonna care." He steps closer towards her, but Karen doesn't retreat an inch. "Because the Hand is gonna be back, with the Black Sky on their side, just because your... friend was too weak to do what needed to be done. He just let her walk away with Nobu to safe some lives risking thousands and more."

So, this is how he gets into Matt's head. How he manipulates people into seeing what he wants them to see and not what's right in front of them. "You know what I think?"

"Thrilled to find out," Stick jokes.

Karen offers him a smile. He wants 'sweet', well he can have it. "I think you're the coward."

He laughs at that. "Yeah, right."

"You were there, weren't you?" Bingo, Karen thinks, because he doesn't have a quick retort for that. "So, this means you didn't kill Elektra either."

"I wasn't as close as him. If I had given up my cover and failed they would have killed me and there'd be nobody left to fight them."

How convenient. Could it be...? "And if Matt would have been outed as Daredevil and arrested, he wouldn't be able to help you fight them either..." Stick's sightless eyes widen all of a sudden which confirms her suspicion. "It was you! You took the suit! YOU helped him."

"I had no choice." Karen sees the rage in him building up, about getting caught like this by one of Matt's friends, about failing as a mentor in his eyes. "He created such a stupid spectacle! It's like he forgot everything I taught him. I told him to stay alone and not trust anyone, not pull anyone into this war. They are all distractions!"

Karen feels tears of anger in her eyes at the words she hears, but she keeps her mouth shut. "And what does he do?! He dates on TV! He was mocking me! And look at how many people died because of it. Because Matty wanted people in his life. You need to stay away from him. You must understand that."

This is wrong on so many levels that she doesn't even know what to say. But strangely, she settles on feeling pity for this old man who was abandoned, apparently by two of his protégés and saw his whole life's legacy trampled on. He won't live much longer and there's nobody left to fight his war for him. Nobody who's willing to stick to his inhumane rules.

"Thank you." There. That takes him by surprise and she also really means it. "For helping Matt and drawing the attention away as Daredevil. But now: Get out." There's no point arguing with someone like that.

"If you think this is over and you can be with him now you're making a huge mistake." Matt's former mentor doesn't move for a few seconds and she doesn't react, doesn't remind him that Matt is with Jessica now - and that's okay, really, she doesn't think he deserves to be alone like this asshole apparently drilled into him. He deserves to be happy, even if it isn't with her. So Stick eventually starts to walk back to the window, her angry glare following him.

He tilts his head back to her one more time when he's already halfway out. "He'll die one day. Protecting you or somebody else he's stupid enough to keep around." And with that the blind man vanishes into the night.

A cold shudder crawls down her back. So, this is the type of teaching Matt grew up with. It figures.

* * *

RACHEL

"So, maybe Jessica could ask Luke to do a guest appearance. That could get people interested, right?" Trish invited Rachel to her place to talk about their potential new project and to be honest it makes her nervous that the has been celebrity would be so eager to work with a producer who was accused of murder among other things. It feels wrong, like there's something about "Patsy" she should know before agreeing to be a part of this.

But it's not like she can afford to be picky. At least Trish knows her story and her idea for a show on people who don't have powers and still want to make a difference does seem like the sort of thing she always wanted to do. Plus this Claire Temple woman seems to be a good place to start. She looks pretty in that picture Trish provided and she's dating Harlem's hero which would make her interesting enough already for a lot of viewers.

Then again, Rachel has had enough of programmes in which women only matter if they can get some dude interested in them. "You know what? Let's not bring Cage up. Claire Temple is a hero of her own. We have to make people see that and bringing a superhero in will only draw attention away from her own work."

A huge grin spreads on Trish's face. "I like the way you think. Although, I feel with her clinic being especially for enhanced people we will need to talk about some of them..."

"She can talk about them. But I don't think we need to see them on camera. Do you even think that you could make Jessica talk to Miss Temple?" Rachel knows how hard it was to produce the grumpy PI. She doesn't think anyone could make her do anything she doesn't want to do, especially for a TV programme.

"You won't have to worry about Jess." Walker's certainty somehow reminds Rachel of Quinn. She also always knew how to get things done and make her do things that made her feel ashamed of herself. That was the reason she had to go, because she sometimes went too far, even in Quinn's opinion. Working with Trish is supposed to be different...

"Right, you even made Jessica go back for Matt, didn't you?" Rachel was surprised when Trish's adopted sister showed up at the second finale. Not being involved in any part of the production for once she just got to watch the outcome on TV, like everyone else, without a clue how they made this happen. She was a little impressed with their work, to be honest.

"Well... no." The woman in front of her leans back in her chair. "That was Elektra. She warned her that Celine was part of that freaky ninja cult and that she was there to kill Matt. Jessica was only there as a friend, to save his life."

Wow, kudos to the team then for making it look so real. "Wait, so there was another fight behind the scenes? Did anyone see...?" If Matt had to fight Celine in front of a bunch of TV producers, he was screwed. It would only be a matter of time before his secret got out.

"No, no. Celine vanished, after Jessica showed up. Matt somehow thinks that his mentor must have killed her."

Oh. Rachel feels horrible for hoping he's right. "So, Jessica and Matt... they're not dating?"

"No, they're just friends, it seems." She then rolls her eyes. "My mother even tried to get Jessica to do a show where she gets to be the star who chooses a man, but you can probably imagine her reaction to that..."

Rachel actually laughs out loud at the idea. "I hope she's still alive?"

"Yeah, she's back on my case now." Now Trish starts to sound very bitter. Which Rachel can relate to. Seems like they both have complicated relationships with their mothers. "She's not happy that I'm considering to drop my show and work with you."

Rachel nods carefully. "And why are you? Just curious..." Mystified, to be precise.

"I... Jessica told me some things about you." Trish catches her eyes in a way that makes Rachel feel like she's seeing right through her. It makes her a little uncomfortable since their most difficult contestant didn't have a lot of good things to share about her. "From what I've heard, you've seen the ugly side of this business and so have I. And I feel like maybe we could try to do it differently together. Maybe we can have each other's back."

Rachel doesn't know what to say. She's always gotten her hopes up about this, usually with some dick involved, but working with women seems to have its own pitfalls. In a way Quinn's cynicism hurt even more sometimes and she's not so sure what exactly Trish is after yet. She wants power over her own programme, that much was clear, but what will Rachel's role in this be? "Let me think about it."

"Take your time." Walker looks a little surprised when Rachel doesn't jump right in, but there are just some things she needs to figure out.

First of all she needs to give Nina that letter from Lucy and for some reason it's less exciting without any stakes in the matter. She doesn't need to catch her reaction on camera and she doesn't need to worry about the ratings this will get. Technically she should just put it in the mail, especially since Nina doesn't like her that much. However, for some reason she rings the bell and she's surprised when the door opens to a concerned face. "Rachel...? I heard what happened to you. How are you?"

Considering that Nina bought Jeremy's version of events it's a little gratifying to know she changed her mind after Rachel nearly died. "Hey, I'm good. I just came to give you something."

Nina frowns and takes the envelope, then looks around to check for cameras which Rachel sees as a sign that she really should just go. But when she starts to move Nina tells her to wait. So she just stands there awkwardly while the former contestant reads Lucy's letter. Eventually she dares to glance at her and catches the hint of a smile, then Nina quickly folds the letter and puts in away turning back towards Rachel. "I'm surprised you remembered to give me this after everything that happened..."

"It's the least I could do." She shrugs.

"I appreciate it. Thank you." Nina smiles. "Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta call someone."

"Good luck!"

Walking back to her car that needs some repairs real soon Rachel feels a weight taken off her. It's not like everything she did was wrong. She did some good things, too. Matt wouldn't be representing her if he didn't think she deserved a second chance. Right?

When the lawyer later visits her with his partner Nelson, he doesn't treat her like the asshole that she is, the one who blackmailed him and caused him a lot of pain, physical and emotional. No, he's very understanding and tells her that Jeremy won't be a threat anymore. That he's actually taking the blame now for everything to make sure she doesn't go to jail. Still trying to be her hero after all. Somehow that freaks her out even more than him calling her a manipulative bitch and making it all her fault.

"He feels horrible for hurting you, Rachel," Matt explains to her. "I don't think you'll have to worry about him anymore, even after he's released. He'll keep his distance, because... we made sure he knows that he's too dangerous for you." Something about the way he says that sounds wrong and it takes a while for Rachel to understand what it is, while Nelson explains to her what's gonna happen next. She takes some notes, still thinking about Matt's words and his appearance, his tired look and the lack of sass when he talks to her. He's a shadow of himself, really.

Matt's red shades of course hide his eyes again. Still, Rachel has gotten good at reading him and he is obviously not in a good place. If they were on TV she'd know exactly what to do to bring his issues up for the audience and she wouldn't hesitate, pretending that it would be good for him, too. But shouldn't she interfere for real? Or would it only make things worse?

Rachel doesn't say anything. She's done with this. It's not her problem.

But seeing Matt like this when he's helping her get her messy life back on track after she fundamentally screwed with his life, his career and his relationships makes her feel like she owes him. What if she could make things better? She did produce happy endings sometimes and if anyone deserves one it's the guy who saves people every night. Who saved her.

She has to try at least. Before she can change her mind Rachel sends Nelson a message asking if there's anyone Matt believes he's too dangerous for. He doesn't answer right away. Checking again and again Rachel later sees those dots appear, suggesting that he's writing something, but he doesn't send it.

Not sure what else to do, she calls Trish Walker to ask for her opinion. "Hey Rachel. You made up your mind finally?"

"I think I need some advice." This is probably a bad idea. "I've got a hunch."

"What kind of hunch?", Trish would like to know.

"I think Murdock's being an idiot."

"You're not trying to play matchmaker again, are you? I thought you put that behind you?" Sounds like Walker is sceptical about her instincts after all which is kind of a relief.

"I'm trying to help a friend," Rachel says, just as Nelson sends her a name. And suddenly she can't help feeling giddy about it. "I think, he's just trying to protect someone and it's not Jessica."

There's a pause. "Alright, I'll bite. What do you want to do about it?"

* * *

JESSICA

It wasn't easy, getting Matt to agree to her offer of protection during the day when he is a little more vulnerable. Maybe in the end his armour just being returned to him by his mentor helped reminding him that he needs this, more than he'd like to admit. People who can cover for him when he's in danger of getting exposed. Or killed.

It's obvious that he doesn't want to talk about it, but they both know she saw it happen, so there's really no reason to mention it. "You think there are any more ninjas out there after you?"

Matt shighs and slumps on the couch. "Not more than usual."

Jessica ignores a sound from her phone to ask if he's alright, not that she's expecting an honest answer. "I'm fine."

"Bullshit... I might not be able to hear your heartbeat, but you're such a bad liar, it's a miracle you weren't identified as Devil Ears way before your reality TV heartthrob act..."

"They're horns." Jessica rolls her eyes, but she sees a little smirk at the corner of his mouth, so she decides to drop it. For now. It's not like she gives a damn. Not much.

When her phone signals another message, the third one within five minutes she thinks it's time to check if it is anything important. "Just keep me in the loop if you hear or smell anything weird," Jessica mumbles while seeing that Trish is asking if she's still at Matt's place and telling her to get out of there if that's the case.

Expecting trouble, Jessica wants to know why, to which she only receives an ominous "just trust me, you don't want to be there...".

WTF? Should she be searching the place for ninjas? "Don't worry. It doesn't concern you," Trish clarifies after a second, sending her a bunch of cryptic and annoying emoticons that explain nothing, like a devil, a heart, a dancing woman in a red dress and a piece of paper.

Then Matt is suddenly tilting his head, indicating that he's listening to something outside. "Karen's coming. She's... she's running..."

Running? Oh. So, Karen's on her way and she was wearing a red dress when she appeared on Everlasting... Putting it together Jessica thinks that, really it's time to go home. "We'll be in touch," she says before quickly grabbing her bag and her drink.

She's already on her way to the roof access when Matt stops her. "No, wait! Maybe she needs help."

Jessica winces at his hand grabbing her arm. "She wants your help, Matt. Not mine. That's why she's coming here."

But his hold on her is desperate and while she could easily free herself, she suddenly understands what this is about while she sees him struggling to come up with some excuse. "I just... I can't..."

She firmly moves his hand from her arm and rolls her eyes. "Just talk to her. If you need me to hit someone you can call."

There's a nervous knock on the door and while going to open it Matt again soundlessly begs Jessica to stay. She justs stands there and watches him vanish around a corner to his entrance. Still contemplating if she should be listening to this asshole or to her sister, she waits to find out what's up. If it's about anything personal, she'll just slip away as quickly as possible.

Something tells her that Rachel's involved in this. It really smells of Goldberg-fabricated drama and Jessica again curses the day that producer met her sister who totally got it in her head that not all of that woman's instincts are destructive and dangerous.

She hears Matt greet his visitor, while Page is completely out of breath and apparently wet, because he is offering her something to dry herself. "Come in, please! Jessica is also here. She can help, if you're in trouble..."

Karen's footsteps come to a halt immediately. "Jessica is here...?" Damn it, Murdock, why mention her name? She was so close to running off.

Jessica finishes her drink and prepares herself for another shitshow. At least this one won't be on TV. "Yeah, let me get you a blanket." Matt hurries to his bedroom, seemingly still quite unaware what conclusion this woman is going to draw, seeing them together after they've snogged in front of cameras a couple of times. Sure, Jessica told her she'd bring him back to her, but she barely knew what she was saying back then. Or why.

Now face to face with a shivering Karen Page, she really doesn't want her to get the wrong idea. "I was just here to offer my protection... for Matt Murdock. Not the other one... You don't need my help, do you?"

The secretary / reporter still looks a bit confused, but manages a little head shake, just when Matt comes back with the blanket, quickly draping it around the freezing blonde and Jessica thinks that, yeah, alright, maybe he needs that little push.

"Okay, I've got places to be," she says leaving those two behind to finally figure their shit out. When she's outside she warns Matt to not be a jerk, although she's not really sure if he's even listening to anything besides Karen Page right now. A part of her still expected that she'd feel jealous, but she actually values her friendship with him and she was glad to see this smitten smile on his face just now. Hopefully, Karen will get to see it, too. And if she doesn't get why he is being such an idiot, then screw her.

* * *

MATT

The last couple of weeks have been hard. Ever since the show ended it all felt so unreal, like none of it actually happened. Elektra bringing up all those old feelings and finally going with the Hand to bring them down and save everyone. Or him flirting with Jessica Jones to mess with her. It even seemed like there was something going on between them for a while, but now Matt thinks that was just Rachel Goldberg messing with his head. He's never going to listen to her again.

And today there was this revelation that Stick was there all the time. That he helped him protect his identity and that he still considered him a failure for letting Elektra live. And before Matt could process all that Jessica ambushed him with an offer of watching his back whenever he had to appear helpless. His bruised ego didn't want to accept it at first, but of course she was right and it wasn't just about him. She had to remind him that Foggy and Karen would also suffer for his recklessness and that made him agree.

He didn't even have time to thank her for caring enough, for trying to make sure he's okay while obviously neither of them was eager to talk about the Stick situation. And suddenly there was a wet Karen on his doorstep making Jessica flee the apartment.

And his confused friend is currently not really telling him why she's even there, after running through the rain in a dress. Whatever it is, it seems to scare her so much she's apparently too afraid to talk about it. He wants to punch whoever is responsible for making her heart beat so fast and for making tears gather in her eyes. "Karen, if someone is threatening you... You know that I'll do anything to protect you, right?"

At bitter laugh escapes her at the comment, which seems rather rude, since he's done a decent job of that in the past and he knows that she's aware of that now. That she figured it out on her own, brilliant that she is... And is that the red dress she wore when he tried to tell her...?

No, wait...

"It's not your protection I want... It's you." Matt blinks a couple of times, because that is not what he expected her to say. "I mean, of course I wouldn't mind your protection, but I kind of figured that I already have that."

Of course she has it. And of course this really shouldn't surprise him. They did kiss during the shooting of the show after all and he implied that he had to figure some stuff out before...

This was one of the things that now felt unreal, the way that his emotions got the better of him. He thought that this could be alright, that maybe this could be something good.

Then the finale happened and he remembered that all his relationships were destined to end in death and destruction. Heartbreak was the better option. It means that she's alive. And he thought she gave up on following up on their kiss after the second finale in which he apeared to choose Jessica. He did not think he'd be able to tell her in person that maybe they better stay friends. Which now he has to do.

"Um, Karen, I'm sorry..." He can hear how Karen pulls the blanket tighter around herself. "I can't."

Her heart is beating even faster and he'll punch himself for that later... "Why? I know it's not because of Jessica or Elektra. Rachel told me."

Goldberg. Of course...

He strokes her arm in an attempt to show how much he regrets this. "It just hurts too much."

"Matt..." Letting the blanket drop from one shoulder Karen reaches out to touch his cheek. He didn't even realise how much he was craving this and how much he was afraid of it at the same time. But before he can pull away, she's kissing him again, her lips moving slow and confident. And he can feel himself react. His hesitation melts away like snow in the sun. Matt releases a sigh and eventually starts to kiss her back with an urgency that surprises even her.

He's barely aware of the blanket falling to the ground and Karen basically replacing it with him. Pulling him close and wrapping his arms around her, while her own delicate fingers start to investigate. She's still drawing little circles on his back when she cruelly tears her lips away from his and breathes out a question that she already knows the answer to: "And? Did this hurt?"

He shakes his head. No, but it would one day. It'll leave the ugliest scar of them all.

"Karen, you don't understand... You were safe, because you weren't there. Because you weren't with me," he's almost pleading with her, his voice raw and broken.

"I understand perfectly. I do..." And then she hugs him again, but this time he's able to break it off, desperate to make her accept that he just can't take that risk anymore.

"No, you don't. You can't!", he insists, now softly, but firmly pushing her hands back.

Karen then finally takes a deep breath. "You know what Stick told me?" Matt's breath catches at the horrible idea of Karen meeting his mentor and even her voice is wavering a little when she elaborates: "He told me you will die one day, trying to protect me."

"When did you talk to him?"

Karen scoffs. "Matt, focus here. He wanted to scare me away from you, but I'm here. You better believe me when I say I do understand very well."

"Okay, okay..." It's not very wise to argue with Karen Page, when she's like this. Stubborn and determined. He can relate actually. It seems that she clearly has more guts than him. Still: "Are you... are you sure about this? It's just, I know I'm gonna mess it up, I always do..."

When she carefully takes his hands in hers, he doesn't protest. "You think I'm not afraid of that? Me messing it up?"

He shakes his head and almost laughs, when he suddenly feels her hand over his mouth and he can almost feel her glare at him. So, when she moves that hand away again, he just frowns, waiting for her to go on.

"I'm terrified. I don't want to talk about it right now, but I've done some horrible, irresponsible things in the past that I cannot take back-"

"Karen, James Wesley-"

"I'm not talking about that," she snaps and Matt immediately shuts up. "Just, trust me when I say that I get it and that I'm afraid of ruining this, too. Am I lying?"

Matt swallows. "No..." Perhaps he really doesn't know as much about Karen Page as he thought he did.

"Still want to kiss me?" Her heart is pounding so loud and clear that it deserves a fitting answer. So he gives her one, in form of a searing kiss, tasting both of their uncertainty on his lips - a promise to try their best, even if it hurts.

And this is when he finally understands. Whether he'll die one day protecting her, or she'll die because he can't, none of them can really prevent that. But at least they don't have to live in denial.

* * *

Notes: So, let me know what you think. :)

And if you have any suggestions for what an Elektra/Matt ending should look like, tell me. I've got some ideas, but let's see...


	23. Second Alternative Ending :)

A year later...

JESSICA

She's starting to think this guy she's following around these days is not having any affair after all, when she takes some pictures of him accepting a pizza and watching a basketball game alone in a crappy hotel. Maybe he just wants some time with his favorite team while his wife takes care of the baby, thinking that he's working. It's nothing to get divorced over, but if you think you have to lie about something as silly as a hobby - unless said hobby is something like killing people - it can't be worth it. Jessica only recently started seeing Luke again and there's still a ton of issues they need to get over, but if she found him with a secret stamp collection, she wouldn't even bother trying...

Suddenly she notices a shadow next to the hotel moving suspiciously, as if someone was hiding there. The alley looks spooky in the light of the streetlamps, with fog clouding her sight a little bit, so it could have just been a cat looking for her prey in the dark. But since it doesn't seem like she's gonna catch anyone cheat today anyway, she might as well investigate what's going on there.

After checking on her still busy target once more, Jessica silently jumps on the next roof and looks down through her camera lense where she spots two very strange figures that bring back some surreal memories. Luke had teased her relentlessly about her embarrassing time on a stupid dating show that she only put up with to help a certain blind lawyer / vigilante (That part she kept to herself, because it wasn't his business.) who got tangled up in a fight against these guys. Men - or even boys - who were after some ninja messiah to save their freaky zombie cult. If they're back some weird shit is probably about to go down.

When the two deadly swordsmen raise their weapons she realises that they are slowly approaching a dumpster below her and from a little chat with a friend she apparently shares with Matt Murdock, Jessica knows that this is a place he might hide in when he's half dead already. So she quickly throws a couple of stones in another direction, making the shadows look up and hurry down the alley to chase after a phantom.

Since they don't come back after a minute she swiftly drops down in front of the dumpster to take a peak inside and she's surprised to find a sai to her throat, held by a heavily bleeding Elektra.

Crap.

When her head is still attached to the rest of her body after a few seconds, Jessica reminds herself that they did actually get along before and maybe if those ninjas were after her she's not on their side...? Yet? "Seemed like you needed some help," she mutters to defend her curiosity. Well, she thought devil boy needed some help, but the injured "black sky" or whatever doesn't need to know that.

Elektra immediately lowers her weapon and drops back down into the garbage, twisting her face in pain and probably disgust. Obviously, she could still be very dangerous, but she also won't make it much longer if she doesn't get medical attention. Soon. While Jessica contemplates her options Elektra hisses urgently: "Please... call Matt...!"

Maybe that's not such a good idea. Jessica saw that guy around his ex. He's not reasonable when it comes to her and he's destructive enough on his own. Before second-guessing herself however, she offers her hand to get the other woman out of this mess. "Let's talk about that later..." They need to get away from this place as fast as possible.

Elektra accepts her help to get out of the dumpster, but she still has enough energy to protest. "No, listen...! They'll go straight to HIM-"

Not bothering to let her finish that sentence Jessica grabs her around the waist and jumps up onto the roof with a bewildered sai-swinging woman stuck to her side. Up there they tear apart glaring at each other, before they both check if anyone has seen that less than elegant stunt. Jessica raises her eyebrows with a wordless question and Elektra replies with a grunt and a begrudging nod in another direction.

When she's confident that they've put enough distance between them and the two followers of the Hand Jessica sighs and takes out her phone. Fixing Elektra with a scrutinising stare she calls Matt's number. While waiting for him to pick up she sees his deadly ex lover close her eyes and lean back against a wall in relief.

"Jessica...?" She can't blame him for being surprised, since they didn't talk to each other for months. They've both been busy with their own shit and she wanted to forget about him for a while. But hearing his voice again now is kind of nice, despite the circumstances.

"I can't explain right now, but someone may be coming to attack you. You should lay low somewhere for a while." When he doesn't react immediately she adds that it's serious, sharing a look with Elektra. "I can't force you to not be an asshole, but I thought you should know."

She can hear him sigh on the other end which means that he's at least aware that she's very serious. Hopefully. "Should I be warning Foggy and Karen?"

Elektra is pressing her hand against one of her many wounds, obviously grateful that her devil is at least informed about the threat. "Might be a good idea to get them somewhere safe, too." Plus: they are not gonna be thrilled about hearing who just returned to Hell's Kitchen...

Matt finishes the call with a mumbled "thanks" and Jessica decides that she needs to give someone else a call if she doesn't want Elektra to bleed to death tonight: "Hey, I'm gonna need some medical help... It's not for me."

Obviously her friend isn't thrilled to be pulled out of her slumber for more vigilante bullshit, but her protest is a little half hearted. Pulling Elektra's arm around her shoulder Jessica drags the injured woman to Claire Temple's apartment. She's almost unconscious when they reach the place, where they are greeted by an exasperated nurse. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Nice to meet you, too," mumbles Elektra, giving her a weak smile that would even look creepy if she didn't have her face covered in blood. Jessica pushes past a tired Claire and places her new patient on the couch.

Being used to that kind of madness she immediately starts to get to work and throws some commands at Jessica every now and then, not wasting any breath on pleasantries or even sarcasm. After a stressful hour of stitching and stopping the flow of blood, Claire decides they did everything they could for the potentially biggest weapon of the Hand. So they move to the kitchen to let her get some rest and clean themselves up.

"That is who I think it is, right?", Claire finally asks after pouring Jessica a drink.

"Matt's ex, yeah... The one who left with all those ninjas before they could turn the finale of a crappy dating show into more of a massacre." She raises her glass and finishes it in one go.

The nurse raises her eyebrows. "You mean the one who brought the Hand to him in the first place, because they were looking for HER." He told her about all that, huh?

"It's not her fault that some clan of zombie ninjas believes that she's their messiah."

"Yeah... maybe not." Claire shoves her hair behind her ear in frustration. "Doesn't make me any more excited that she's crashing on my couch right now."

"Right..." Jessica fumbles with her scarf nervously. "It's not for long. I just need to figure out what to do with her." She doesn't want to put anyone in danger either, not if she can help it. But right now, she has nowhere else to go.

"Alright, it's not like they'll look for her here, I guess..." Claire sits down at the table next to her guest. "Does he know that she's back?"

Jessica shakes her head.

"Are you gonna tell him?"

And that's the question isn't it? She's been thinking about it ever since she heard his voice over the phone. No, ever since Elektra begged her to call him. She did not care that Jessica decided not to mention her name. All she cared about was his safety. Still, those two were explosive together on a good day. "I'm not sure if it would be such a good idea to do so. But I haven't seen him in a while. How is he?" Maybe she just got to know him in a diffcult time and Murdock was usually not such a mess trying to pass as a human being.

Claire looks like thinking about that even frustrates her. "I don't know. It seemed like he was getting better, but the last couple of times he came by even his jokes got worse..." Seriously? That's her clue? "I know. Matt was always broody, but he used to make me smile, while I was saving his life and I miss that."

Okay fine, Jessica remembers his sense of humour, too. Especially the stupid blind jokes that she does not miss. However she can imagine that him not making them would be so much worse...

* * *

MATT

How can anyone even try to be happy? You either are or you aren't and there's nothing Matt can do about it. What he can do is save lives, which probably makes him a little less unhappy. But then again, he has to hurt people to do it and while he personally doesn't feel bad for what he does to criminals (most of the time), he also knows that he keeps hurting his friends as well with the things he does - lying to them, pushing them away or getting them in trouble. And wouldn't it be selfish to think that his own happiness had any place in all this anyway?

Still, she asked him to try and find it, while she intended to have some fun taking down the Hand from the inside. Maybe it was the least he could do? Elektra's last words to him found their way back into Matt's head ever since Jessica texted him that the Hand has returned, that whatever was happening had to do with them. Could she be back, too? Elektra can't still think that her taking on an entire army without him would make it possible for him to just... live his life?

Any minute now the phone will ring and someone will tell him what's going on. Any minute, Matt thinks, listening to the news on the radio, the weather forecast, traffic news and then a chat show goes live on air. Ten more minutes of nonsensical conversation that doesn't help calm his nerves and still nothing. He puts on the Daredevil suit to go out and of course he will start searching for Jessica to get some answers. But where would he even start looking?

His first concern was getting Foggy and Karen somewhere safe, which wasn't easy. They finally agreed to visit the Nelson family when he promised them that he also wouldn't go home, but stay at the gym instead. However, he barely got any sleep last night, because he got lost in nostalgic memories and worries keeping him awake. It's only a day after Jessica called him with a cryptic warning and he is already losing his patience. He calls her back again, fully prepared to leave a rant on her voice mail and annoy Malcom some more when she actually, finally picks up with an almost understanding tone in her voice. "Alright, Murdock..."

Thrown for a second, Matt almost forgets what he wanted to yell at her. "Um..."

She sighs as if she's the one who's been patient with him. "Yeah, yeah I know. You want to be involved. But just give me one more day, okay? Trust me. It's better that way." Half way through her trying to get him to listen, Matt got distracted by that sound. A church bell with a very familiar echo. It's not his church, but he's still heard it a million times. And there's something else...

"I trust you. It's just... let me do something," Matt pleads with her, barely listening to her answer, because there it is again! That's a ship, isn't it? They are close to the docks and suddenly he knows which church she must be standing close to.

"...okay, I gotta go. Just wait till I text you. Okay?"

"Yeah, sure." Matt is already running in their direction while finishing that call. He will not let her do this alone. It is his fight. Elektra's and his fight. Why the hell would they keep this from him?! How is this better than Stick's way of thinking? Why is everyone else so sure that they would know what's good for him?! Even Rachel, who is probably the last person that should give anyone life advice, visited him after she got out of the hospital and tried to lecture him about isolationg himself emotionally...

So what? What if he was happier alone? What is so wrong about that? He's running faster and faster, while even a twenty minute distance seems to stretch forever. Until suddenly he senses it. A trace of HER.

He hadn't heard from her since that fateful night of the live finale on that dreadful reality show. Nothing. He had occasionally worried that they truly got to her and turned her into the Hand's biggest weapon like Stick scathingly warned him they would when he returned the suit... Other times he feared that she could have already died fighting them. Would his mentor even tell him if she did? If it turned out that his trust in her wasn't misplaced after all? After she lied to him, manipulated him and killed someone in front of him without hesitation?

He's close now, close enough to hear the sounds of a fight and he runs to get there on time. He runs to get to them and for the first time in months he's actually looking forward to a fight with someone by his side. Someone unpredictable and dangerous, someone like him.

A few moments later he reaches a construction site, but he quickly realises that he has no way to jump onto the framework where Elektra seems to be crawling away from five figures holding their swords drawn to end her once and for all.

He's too late, damn it!

He could rush down and climb up at the unfinished side of the building, but there was just no way he could reach her before-

He hears her yell a curse at her attacker when it's cut off by a sword slicing into her flesh. It's too far away for him to smell copper with the wind coming from another direction, but with the way she's dropping her weapons and holding her stomach when she turns around there's no doubt in his mind that her fight is over. She's dying.

Elektra is stumbling towards the edge and he would swear that he can hear her say his name. Without thinking about it, his body decides to tune her voice out. There's no way he can live on with only her last words keeping him company. But Matt quickly realises his mistake when he sees her fall and he jumps into action immediately. He needs to get to her, even if he couldn't save her. He can't see her, so he has toat least touch her once more, no matter what - even if they'll be able to see him, even if it will be the last thing he does.

Running as fast as he can Matt reaches the floor within seconds and runs towards the body lying on the ground when suddenly a huge explosion slams him back onto the ground, while throwing his senses in complete turmoil.

He's disoriented for a long moment, his whole body aching everywhere, when he lifts his face up and the heat of the flames makes him back away as quickly as he can. There is no way to get there now, even if he was stupid enough to risk his life for this there's just no way to find her in that fire. For a second he tries to trace the men who killed her, but they are probably long gone.

All he's able to do is pray. So that's what he does, ignoring the sirens as they approach as well as the flames threatening to get closer to where he's kneeling. He prays for her soul, for his strength to get back up to fight these bastards and promises to never ask for anything for himself again. It's high time he became the soldier that he's obviously meant to be after all.

Matt drags himself back home, defeated. It's not like it matters anymore. He'll tell Foggy and Karen tomorrow that they can come back. Father Lantom once reminded him that he has to love himself to love others. So, maybe he did. The pride he takes in what he does sure must have been something like love. Because otherwise it wouldn't hurt so much, right? Losing her after all this time. Her scent still seemingly in the air everywhere after he sensed her fall to her death and his entire world came crumbling down with that.

He loved her so much and now she's gone. The only one who truly understood all of him, even the parts that he was ashamed of… How could he love himself after he failed her? How could he love anyone?

* * *

ELEKTRA

Jessica brought her to Claire straight away, because the wound could not be faked, at least not entirely. Elektra really was falling, but she never hit the ground, because Jessica caught her in time. They had an identically dressed puppet double her on the ground and quickly set the construction site on fire, so the remaining members of the Hand couldn't look for a body to revive and dance to their tunes.

Elektra knew they were able to do that. She'd seen it once. She's seen a lot of crazy shit while trying to take over the organisation. She's also done some things Matthew wouldn't approve of. But it worked. They trusted her and they never saw it coming when she and a few of her followers who were more loyal to the Black Sky than they were to the Hand were starting to take out a lot of their leaders one by one. Elektra even got to some of the original five, before they realised what was happening and decided to go after HIM.

"He saw me die…", Elektra mumbles while Jessica tries to assist Claire in fixing her again. Their eyes lock in concern, because that sure wasn't part of the plan.

"I'll call him," her former reality show rival assures her and immediately grabs her phone when Claire insists that she has this under control.

Seeing him back there had almost made her panic, but there was just no way to let him know that most of this was an act. That the guy putting his sword into her was actually careful not to hit any vital organs. It had to be believable and the good thing is that now it really was. With Matt reacting the way that he did it was clear that he believed it, too.

But that's also why she was worried about him. She hadn't expected to see him this desperate and it broke her heart to do this to him. Again. Last time he understood why she had to go, but the first time she left him without any explanation or closure. This time it was supposed to be different.

"He's not picking up." Elektra closes her eyes and listens to Jessica leaving a message for him and explaining that it's not what he thinks and that he needs to call her back urgently.

She can imagine him throwing the phone against the wall when he hears it ring after they ignored his calls the last couple of hours. She loses consciousness when Claire curses and yells at Jessica to quickly hold something...

When Elektra opens her eyes again she sees Jessica sit on a chair next to her and stare at her phone. "Did he call you back?"

The tired woman looks startled for a second, but then shakes her head. "I think maybe we should have told him."

Yeah, maybe they should have. Elektra groans as she sits up feeling the stitches in her side and Jessica immediately throws her a warning look. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"You need to get me to him."

Jessica quickly shoves her battered torso back onto the bed. "Nope. Not gonna happen."

"Jess, come on! I need to tell him that I'm fine!", Elektra challenges her friend. "What if he does something to himself...?"

"He wouldn't," Jessica says, but even she doesn't sound too convinced. "And you're not fine..."

Elektra chuckles. "Oh please, this is nothing. In two days I'll be good as new."

"Fine. I'll go." Jessica rolls her eyes swearing at her stubborn vigilante friends which almost makes Elektra laugh.

But Jessica going is not enough, so Elektra catches her hand with determination. "We'll go together."

"Ugh, I hate you." But she doesn't protest anymore.

Jessica scribbles a note for Claire who probably had to go to the hospital and takes a huge gulp from her bottle of bourbon, before offering it to a smirking Elektra. "Love you, too, babe." She grabs the bottle before the other woman can change her mind and then they slowly start making their way to Matt's apartment.

It takes forever and two torn stitches to reach the place. When he doesn't even open the front door after they ring his doorbell she starts to hope that maybe he didn't go home after all. Because, if he did he should surely be able to sense her from up there, right? Otherwise...

"Let's check..." And before she could ask what that means, Jessica again jumps up onto the roof with Elektra dangling by her side and losing way more blood than necessary. Just like the strong woman did after finding her in that dumpster.

It always makes her a bit dizzy, but before Elektra could complain about it her eyes fall on him lying on his couch without even noticing that they are there staring at him. That itself is again slightly worrying, because it really shouldn't be possible. But he doesn't look hurt, while his phone is - as expected - lying in pieces in the corner of the room.

Jessica's knock on the window pulls both her and Matt back to the present however. She sees him jump to his feet with lightning speed and a hand grabbing his chest as if he was experiencing a heart attack. Elektra gives him a weak little wave and a smile. "Hello, Matthew..."

He tilts his head in that way Elektra finds way too adorable and now she also notices his bloodshot eyes and the tears now freely running down his cheeks. As if he had been holding it all back until this very moment. She's about to say sorry for making him believe he lost her again when Jessica suddenly drags her up to the door of his roof access. Right. They could just go inside. Or someone could carry her, because right as the door opens she feels the stupid bloodloss finally catching up with her and ruining their heartfelt reunion. The last thing she sees is Matthew again rushing towards her, but this time it wouldn't be in vain.

Waking up to his smell, to him lying next to her and his arm around her, Elektra can't believe her luck. A year ago, the last time she saw him she killed someone. Viciously. A child. Sure, it was maybe the only way to save him and also make him understand that she had to leave, but still the disgusted expression on his face haunted her. The whole time that she was away from him this was how she remembered him. She didn't think he'd actually mourn her like that after seeing firsthand what she's capable of. After seeing the killer in her. And after all this time.

But Matt Murdock still appears to believe in her. And there he is. Dark eyes looking nowhere, but somehow still staring right into her very dark soul. She's never seen him cry like this either and it was over almost losing her of all things. His hand slowly reaches out to her, tracing her features and cupping her face as if he's still afraid that it was all a dream, that she's really dead. His touch is so soft it almost hurts and she leans into it just as gently. When she covers his hand with hers she can feel him move closer, careful not to touch her injuries.

His lips brush against her other cheek and for a moment she thinks this is all way too sweet for them, but at the same time it feels just right. "Jessica explained it all to me. I was furious with her for not including me in this. And people keep telling me that I'm the reckless one."

"Sorry, it was my decision. I didn't want to drag you into this." She didn't want to disrupt his life again, even after Jess and Claire hinted that there wasn't a lot left to disrupt.

"You should have asked me what I want."

"What you want and what you need can be two completely different things. You taught me that." And right now all she wants is just to be lying here with him until the end of the world.

And as if he was reading her mind he then asks her the one question even she has never asked herself: "And what is it you need?"

It doesn't take long for her to find the right answer. "To be here with you."

* * *

_Note: This is the time we can indulge in fan fiction and even feel like we're doing a good thing. ;) So, if you enjoyed this, please check out my other stories or find me on tumblr. I don't have a lot of time to write anymore, but I can still reply to comments and any feedback totally cheers me up. We'll get through this together! :)_

_Please stay home if you can and if you see anyone wearing a selfmade mask, don't think they're afraid of an infection. They're probably just trying to protect you. Kinda like this guy..._


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